GRADES: Sixers hold off late Rockets surge
The Sixers ended a three-game losing streak with a narrow home victory over Houston.
This win was not pretty by any means. The Sixers had a 69-43 lead at halftime and led by as many as 29 in the fourth quarter, but thanks to an enormity of turnovers, Houston was allowed back into the game. But what matters is the Sixers won and with Joel Embiid still clearly struggling with back pain and Ben Simmons not playing, Sixers fans got to see contributions from plenty of guys.
Embiid did end up with another 30-point game, scoring 31 while nearly getting a triple double in the process. But he got help as well. Tobias Harris continued to show he’s worthy of a trip to the All-Star game, with 24 points, and probably the most important contributions were that of Seth Curry and Danny Green, who scored 25 points and 12 points, respectively.
Matisse Thybulle also played efficiently against the Rockets. Although he wasn’t a top scorer, he showed off his defensive skills, forcing four Rocket turnovers.
Philadelphia 76ers. JOEL EMBIID. B+. <strong>37min | 31pts | 11reb| 9ast| 2 stl| 1blk|6 TO|10-21FG| 1-3 3pt|10-12 FT|4PF|+4|</strong><p>Big Man Joel Embiid showed a lot of toughness against the Rockets. He clearly was in pain due to his back problems, but fought through them to come within one assist of a triple-double. Although he turned it over way too many times, his clutch free throw shooting proved key in getting the victory.</p>. C
Philadelphia 76ers. DANNY GREEN. B-. <strong>36min| 12pt|3reb|0ast|0stl|2blk|3TO|4-6FG|4-6 3pt|0-0 FT|2 PF|-4|</strong><p>Although there was still plenty of things to criticize Danny Green for in the game against Houston, he was highly efficient. In this game he showed flashes of his old self back when he was a Spur, knocking down three pointer after three pointer. Again like most of the team he struggled turning the ball over, but percentage-wise had one of his best shooting games of the season and the much maligned small forward deserves credit for it.</p>. SF
A. <strong>37min| 24pts| 15rebounds| 5ast| 1stl| 2blk| 0TO| 8-17FG| 1-2 3pt| 7-8 FT| 2PF| -2|</strong><p>Tobias Harris continues to shine under head coach Doc Rivers and is proving that he belongs in the All-Star conversation. Not only has he improved his play this season, but he has shown to compliment Joel Embiid. All in all another solid night from Harris.</p>. PF. Philadelphia 76ers. TOBIAS HARRIS
B. <strong>37min| 25pt| 2reb| 5ast| 2stl| 0blk| 5TO|8-13FG| 3-5 3PT| 6-6 FT| 2PF| -7|<br /></strong><p>Seth Curry had an incredible scoring performance against the Rockets. With a season high 25 points, he showed why he is so often compared to his brother Steph. He was efficient from the field, efficient from 3 and efficient from the free throw line. It is safe to say he has been the team’s best free agency acquisition.</p>. SG. Philadelphia 76ers. SETH CURRY
B. <strong>31min| 5pts| 1reb| 2ast| 4stl| 1blk| 0TO| 2-2FG| 1-1 3PT| 0-0 FT| 5 PF| +4|</strong><p>With Ben Simmons not playing it was clear that somebody was going to have to play elite defense for the Sixers, and that’s just what they got out of Matisse Thybulle. Thybulle forced 4 of the Rockets’ turnovers showing off how good he can be on the defensive side of the ball.</p>. SG. Philadelphia 76ers. MATISSE THYBULLE
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