The Philadelphia 76ers were in a little bit of trouble early in Game 1 against the Washington Wizards. Their open looks were not falling as it seemed that the week off threw off their rhythm and on top of that, Joel Embiid got into early foul trouble as that hurt the team early.
Luckily, Tobias Harris came to the rescue as he had 37 points and six rebounds in a 125-118 win over the Wizards to open their Round 1 playoff series. He had 28 points at the half to keep Philadelphia in the game as they only trailed by one point at halftime despite Embiid playing only 10:25 in the first half.
“It felt good,” said Harris who shot 15-for-29 on the day. “I think just being able to go out there and find a good balance of being aggressive and still doing whatever I can to make make the right plays out there, winning plays, and just to really get in a good rhythm. It’s a good game for myself.”
Embiid was able to have a strong overall game of 30 points with 21 coming in the second half, but when he was in foul trouble, the Sixers needed somebody to step up and Harris came in clutch.
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“It was huge, especially in that time,” said the big fella. “When when I was on the bench, we needed a scorer and he showed up the whole game really, but especially in that first half. I think he had 28 or 30 points at halftime, that was huge for us. Especially because they were also making a lot of shots and they went on the run. Him keeping us in the game while I was on the bench is huge.”
Washington shot 53.1% from the floor in the first half while Philadelphia shot only 46.2% and they were also 3-for-17 from deep, but they only tried 62-61 thanks to Harris’ efforts. While the rest of the team got into a groove late, Harris was big in keeping them in the game.
“He did what he’s been doing, man,” said Danny Green. “He’s been carrying the weight and he’s aggressive for us. He knew he had to be extra aggressive, but that’s what he’s been doing all year for us. Taking on the challenge, rebounding for us, doing little things, and he kept us afloat while Jo was in foul trouble.”
Harris has continued to take strides forward under the guidance of coach Doc Rivers and on Sunday, he was able to make quick decisions with the ball in his hand and he was able to get to the basket and score easily. This is the type of performance that Philadelphia will continue to need.
“Tobias, I have full faith in,” said Rivers. “I said it early, I think he struggled the first couple of games, and just from the body of work, coaching them with the Clippers and knowing him and watching him what we are trying to do with him in the training camp, I just really believe it would take over at some point and it has.”
The Sixers and the Wizards will match up on Wednesday in Game 2 of this series.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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