Livescore
The Philadelphia 76ers were looking to continue their winning ways on the road as they continued their five-game trip on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Sixers have been terrific on this road trip in clutch situations and they were looking to build off the first two wins of the trip.
On Tuesday, Joel Embiid provided another dominant performance once again going for 26 points in the first half alone on his way to 41 points for the game and he pulled down nine rebounds. His performance allowed the Sixers to come away with a 120-110 win over the Clippers as Philadelphia improved to 3-0 on the road trip.
Tobias Harris added 19 points, six rebounds, and six assists, James Harden had six points and nine assists, Tyrese Maxey had 22 huge points off the bench, and PJ Tucker added six. Georges Niang added nine points as well.
Here are the player grades following the win:
James Harden: C+
The Sixers have much more success when Harden is pushing the pace and looking for that pass ahead. He did so on numerous occasions to start this one and that got his teammates in a rhythm on the offensive end. He and Embiid are continuing to grow as a pairing as well which is the biggest development for this Sixers team going forward. With all that being said, he had a really tough time getting into any offensive rhythm on the night as he struggled to shoot the ball. The Sixers were able to overcome that in this one, but they will need him to bounce back in the next one.
De’Anthony Melton: B-
Other than a few struggles with Paul George defensively, Melton was very good for the Sixers in this one. He was the beneficiary of Harden looking ahead as he was able to get himself an easy layup and he also was able to get an open triple as well just off of passes from Harden. After the initial burst, he wasn’t great on offense, but he did have some nice moments defensively throughout the night.
Tobias Harris: A
With Harden and Embiid on the bench, the Sixers ran their offense through Harris and Maxey in order to find success. When Harris is able to get to his spots and make quick decisions, he has success. He is the definition of a rhythm player and he needs to be able to find more success in this area on the offensive end of the floor. On a night when Harden struggled, getting this type of night from Harris was helpful.
PJ Tucker: A-
The Sixers got a great early sign from Tucker in this one when he knocked down a corner triple. The Clippers doubled Embiid and the Sixers did a great job of moving the ball around and Tucker took advantage of the open triple. He also had the unenviable challenge of defending Kawhi Leonard and he did so admirably while also doing the little things on both ends to help the Sixers. He had a very nice night in this one.
Joel Embiid: A+
The pick-and-roll game between Embiid and Harden continues to grow. The big fella has been able to improve as a roller and he has remained patient. There were quite a few moments in this one where he was able to handle himself well despite the Clippers sending waves of defenders at him. There was absolutely nothing the Clippers could do in terms of trying to defend the big fella. He was knocking down mid-range jumpers, he was going to work in the low block, he was knocking down 3s, he was taking guys off the dribble. There was just nothing Los Angeles could do.
Tyrese Maxey: A
The defensive issues from Maxey began almost immediately as Norman Powell took him to the rim on his first defensive possession and then he got caught in a bad play when he picked up a foul. He did make up for it when he drove to the basket and finished an And-1. That seemed to get him into a rhythm on offense as he was making some very tough shots all night long and took command of the second unit on offense. He scored Philadelphia’s first 11 points of the fourth quarter in order to give control back to the Sixers.
Georges Niang: A-
With Maxey taking on the brunt of the offensive responsibility for the bench unit, there isn’t much for Niang to do on the offensive end at times. His mere presence, however, is a big help in terms of spacing just because of how elite of a shooter he is. He showed off his shooting prowess with two big triples in the third when LA took a lead and gained some separation.
Shake Milton: B
Once again, Milton was aggressive coming off the bench on the offensive end. This has been a terrific development for him as he continues to find his groove in his reserve role. He has been more comfortable on offense as a starter compared to a reserve so this is a good sign for the Sixers.
Montrezl Harrell: D+
The veteran had a tough initial run. He had a tough time with Ivica Zubac on both ends as he wasn’t able to get off a clean shot against him and he wasn’t able to make an impact on defense. Harrell did bring energy, though, and it did pay off for him when he had a nice putback And-1 in the fourth.
Matisse Thybulle: B-
The Sixers made an adjustment with Thybulle in the third quarter. He was able to immediately draw an offensive foul and he was a pest on the defensive end of the floor. He began to swing the momentum back in Philadelphia’s direction a bit after the Clippers took control.
Story originally appeared on Sixers Wire
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