Sixers

The Philadelphia 76ers make sure to single out Tobias Harris after their comeback win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

That’s what he wants to get to and then try to crowd the paint as much as possible. “(PJ) Tuck did a great job getting the offensive board which was huge for us on the last one and it was just a great play where I was able to get the ball off real quick with somebody closing out and just make it.” “From there, when that one went up and then, the next play, I passed up one and I ended up hitting James, but when I passed it up, I said some nasty words to myself inside.” I was like keep shooting and he did and he hit two big ones.” Embiid shot 2-for-14 in the first half and Harris wasn’t able to get open looks. Then, the second half came along and Harris stepped up.

The Sixers fought back Thursday night and earned a 110-105 win at Wells Fargo Center over the Grizzlies for their fifth straight victory. By Noah Levick.

Embiid tightly contested a missed Morant layup and rejected Tillman at the rim as the Sixers kept eating into the Grizzlies' lead. After four straight Jackson points, Harden bailed the Sixers out with a difficult three. They scrapped back Thursday to win their first game in the Harden at least got the Sixers into halftime with a chance at a comeback win. Morant was yet another big name to struggle from the floor in the first half. Georges Niang had a rough stint and Jackson snuck behind the defense for an alley-oop slam that extended Memphis' lead to 91-79. When Embiid came up to defend a Morant-Tillman pick-and-roll, Santi Aldama smartly slipped behind him on the baseline and finished off a Morant lob. The Sixers as a team only scored 22 points in the first. He caught fire in the first quarter and finished the period with 21 points on 7-for-8 shooting. and the The Sixers began a bit sloppily, although their miscues in the first few minutes looked like typical post-All-Star rust. Dewayne Dedmon was sidelined for the Sixers with left hip tightness.

A crazy comeback win over Memphis was an incredible way to come out of the All-Star break.

Then, in the final minute, Harris was the man to hit the big go-ahead shot. However, it was the defensive end of the court where the big man really shined. The Sixers held on from there and found themselves on the other end of a huge comeback for a change. Harden was also able to attack the lane for some tough finishes through traffic and would have had twice the amount of assists if his teammates were knocking down shots at a normal clip. The pitchforks were ready to come out. After missing shootaround earlier in the day due to illness, Embiid toughed it out to take the court, but clearly his shooting eye was affected.

By the time the NBA All-Star break began, 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey had emptied the locker room of a guy who fell out of favor and ...

Boston (42-17) and Milwaukee (41-17) are the league’s best teams. The first three away games are a back-to-back with the Heat (Wednesday), at the Dallas Mavericks (March 2), and a big road test at the Milwaukee Bucks (March 4). But you know it’s a good preparation for us heading into the playoffs, and I think our guys are well rested from the All-Star break and ready to roll.” “Certain teams flip the switch,” Tyrese Maxey said. [James Harden and Paul Millsap ](https://www.inquirer.com/sixers/simmons-harden-trade-nba-deadline-sixers-nets-20220210.html)at the break. They added [George Hill](https://www.inquirer.com/sixers/sixers-george-hill-2021-nba-trade-deadline-20210325.html) in 2021. And who can forget their 106-99 road loss to the Celtics, who were playing Jayson Tatum and a bunch of backups. But with all due respect to Rivers’ observation, the final 25 games of the season will determine how good the Sixers are. [Matisse Thybulle ](https://www.inquirer.com/sixers/sixers-matisse-thybulle-trade-deadline-jalen-mcdaniels-hornets-blazers-20230209.html)is gone. The Sixers begin the post-All-Star break portion of the season with key home games against the Memphis Grizzlies (Thursday), Celtics (Saturday), and the Miami Heat (Monday). However, they went 17-5 in the rest of the regular season before advancing to the Finals. They were the East’s sixth-place team at 34-26 at the break.

Doc Rivers and the Philadelphia 76ers address their final stretch of tough games to end the regular season.

AP. Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers, right, talks to his team during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets ...

In a year where organizations just across the street have had their chance, it’s time for the team inside Wells Fargo Center to get theirs. A big concern for Philly the past few years has been coaching and the play of the bench. Being a team that has struggled in the postseason over the past few years, the Sixers have to play at their best in order to play up through June. With many talented offenses in the Eastern Conference, Philadelphia’s defense needs to be lockdown in order to make a run at the NBA title. Starting off with a challenging eight-game stretch, the play of Joel Embiid, James Harden, and Tyreese Maxey is going to have to be stellar in order to pull out some wins from these games. The 76ers started out with what was a very important season for the entire organization.

By Kevin Kinkead; February 23, 2023. Best in the business. I got up off my couch and yelped when Kevin Harlan called this series of plays:.

Harlan is the best PBP guy in the business and second place is not particularly close. I’d be clinging to the edge of my seat waiting to see what happens next. If he was on the play-by-play of paint drying, I’d be invested.

With a record of 38-19, the Sixers are right on the cusp of the 40-20 rule theorized by the Zen Master Phil Jackson.

The Sixers exit the all-star break with the 3rd best record in the east and the 4th best record overall in the National Basketball Association. If you don’t know who that is, he won 11 championships and was the HC of the Bulls during their six titles in eight years, and was the HC for the Lakers, winning five titles with the purple and gold. With a record of 38-19, the Sixers are right on the cusp of the 40-20 rule theorized by the Zen Master Phil Jackson.

Embiid's monster effort on the defensive end fueled Philly's comeback victory at home.

[Tobias Harris](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/tobias-harris-UpRf034bQRbHK4vT/) in the initial action. Harden tracked down the ball, hit the floor and found Embiid on an outlet pass for a fast-break dunk. [Jaren Jackson Jr.](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/jaren-jackson-jr-3KAZAQAjmgeKKdDD/), a front-runner for NBA Defensive Player of the Year, played roamer and helped aggressively off of [P.J. Harden scored at a high level against an elite defense: 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting, 6 of 9 from beyond the arc and 5 of 7 from the free-throw line. [De’Anthony Melton](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/deanthony-melton-vBKwxnLRDiw6TF9d/) finished with zero points against his old team. “I think if you watch most of the games where I have bad shooting nights and I just can’t make the shots that I usually do, I usually go from having a good defensive game to an amazing defensive game. That is tied for second most in the [NBA](https://theathletic.com/nba/). [a 110-105 comeback victory](https://theathletic.com/nba/game/memphis-grizzlies-vs-philadelphia-76ers/VlKzGceL3labRhpR/) over the second-best team in the Western Conference. It was as if the basketball gods rewarded Embiid’s defensive intensity throughout the game with a The rebounds were a season high, and it was the second time this season he had more than four blocks. To quote Sam Hinkie, the Sixers needed “violence at the rim.” Embiid supplied that from the opening tip. When Embiid put his head down, he was 1 of 8 from the field and 5 of 8 from the free-throw line.

Though PJ Tucker helped the Sixers impressively come back to beat the Grizzlies on Thursday night, he sure isn't glowing about the team's defense overall.

The hero of the game against the Grizzlies was Harris, who is often maligned by fans.

He passed up his next open look from same spot, instead taking three baseline dribbles and flipping the ball back to Harden for the bucket that again cut the Sixers’ deficit to one with 1:24 remaining. 13, before going 3-of-4 from long range against the Cleveland Cavaliers in his final game before the respite. As a team, I think we all struggled, and then late in the fourth quarter we found the rhythm.” He made just 28.6% of his three-point attempts in the 25 games from Dec. Harris also guarded Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant for large chunks of the second half, and sealed the Sixers’ win with two free throws in the final seconds. Yet his internal dialogue in the moment was “shoot the next one.”