Brett Brown knew what the Sixers were up against. Back in his previous role on the Spurs’ coaching staff, he was tasked with countering the Thunder whenever the teams met. When the Rockets came to town on Friday, Brown understood the offensive danger of the player he had studied so intently over the years.
“That Oklahoma City team was my responsibility when you had to get through Oklahoma in order to play to the NBA championship,” Brown said. “You OD’ed on James Harden.”
Harden did exactly what Harden does: ran up the scoreboard with 51 points while topping it off with a 13-rebound, 13-assist triple-double (14th of the season) in the Rockets’ 123-118 win over the Sixers.
In spite of Harden’s dominance, this game was a battle by the Sixers. They trailed by only three after the first quarter and entered halftime tied at 61 apiece while shooting 60.5 percent from the field. After the Rockets opened the third on a 12-0 run, the Sixers trimmed the deficit to four early in the fourth quarter and then again with 11 seconds to go.
Joel Embiid scored a team-high 32 points with seven rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes in his first game back from suffering a left knee contusion last Friday. He missed the previous three games but did not show signs of rust in his return the day after he was left off the All-Star reserves (see story). This was Embiid's second 30-plus-point game of his career.
Inside the box score
• Here's a full breakdown of Harden's ridiculous performance: 16 for 28 from the field, 6 for 11 from three, 13 for 14 from the line.
NBA
• Per ESPN Stats & Info, Harden is the first player to ever have two 50-point triple-doubles in the same season.
• Harden also became the first player to ever have at least 50 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a game against the Sixers.
• Nene dropped 21 points, including 11 in the first quarter.
• It took Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot just eight minutes to tie his career high of 12 points. He did so with a perfect 5 for 5 from the field, 1 for 1 from three, and 1 for 1 from the line with 8:30 still remaining in the first half.
• The Sixers received a balanced scoring effort from six players in double digits (Embiid 32, Gerald Henderson 13, T.J. McConnell 13, Luwawu-Cabarrot 12, Dario Saric 12 and Robert Covington 10). McConnell also dished eight assists.
D'Antoni returns
Former Sixers associate head coach Mike D'Antoni was back as head coach of the Rockets. His style has clicked quickly with the roster as they contend in the Western Conference (see story).
Notable faces in the crowd
Allen Iverson got the night started by ringing in the ceremonial bell. Eagles defensive end Connor Barwin watched the game courtside with filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan. Across the floor, comedian/actor Kevin Hart and rapper Meek Mill took in the game together. Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins was also at the game. The crowd, of course, broke out in the Eagles fight song.
Up next
The Sixers will travel to Chicago to play the rocky Bulls (23-25) on Sunday. They will return home for a makeup game against the Kings (18-28) on Monday, rescheduled from a December postponement.