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The Philadelphia 76ers appeared dead in the water Sunday night in Indianapolis. They lost 20 points on the road without their best player Joel Embiid and it looked like they would continue to go winless without the star big man.
Then Tobias Harris locked himself in, the team moved to zonal defense, and they were able to rally and beat the Indiana Pacers 119-110 for an impressive win without the big guy. It was a game they would most certainly lose in the past and that was mostly down to Harris’ refusal to let the Sixers lose in this one.
“It was awesome,” coach Doc Rivers said. “We launched our punch, punch-4 series. What I liked, we did on both sides of the floor. Our guys performed it, it gives us space, I thought it organized us, and Tobias was very efficient.
Harris finished with 27 points on a 10-for-19 shot and he scored 10 in the fourth quarter to help Philadelphia return to this game. It was the performance of an All-Star player and it was the one that showed he had the right frame of mind.
“It’s a winning mentality,” explained Harris. “I was there today to get buckets to help our team win and we started calling a few sets for me to get on the block to go to work and take the time and the opportunity… To me, it’s only the fourth quarter, game, like that, with Joel out, just come to a place and grab a bucket for the team and come back.
Matisse Thybulle, Furkan Korkmaz and Dwight Howard also played a part in this victory. Thybulle was a threat to the defense and Korkmaz managed to knock down some massive shots while Howard was formidable on the bench, but Harris was still the main catalyst on offense to get them back.
“I said the other day, Tobias was putting on a show and I think we all just need to sit down and enjoy it,” Thybulle said. “He does a great job and he does everything we ask for him and more. He plays both sides at a high level.
With Embiid out, Harris was the team’s scorer in this situation and Howard made sure he knew that when he got back on the floor.
“Tobias came into the game and I walked over to him, I said, ‘Hey, don’t sit down, nobody can keep you down. Go get some buckets, ”Howard explained. “He did that. He didn’t adjust, he attacked the basket, he put pressure on the rim, he put pressure on the referees, and he made some big plays.
Howard added that he had a new nickname for Harris.
It was an impressive win overall and Harris definitely continues to make a serious case to be part of the Eastern Conference All-Star squad. Now they will have to move forward and finish the road trip strong Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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