The Philadelphia 76ers received some help from reinforcements on Saturday when they welcomed back Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris from the health and safety protocols and a hip injury, respectively. The two of them have missed time and it was helpful to have their two leaders back on the floor.
While Embiid had a monster game, it was a bit of a struggle for Harris. The star forward finished with 17 points and nine rebounds, but he shot 6-for-16 and he missed all four of his 3-pointers. That is not a Harris type of night as he is one of the more efficient shooters in the game.
He even shot 0-for-3 at halftime as he was not all that involved in the offense. Was the hip injury maybe lingering a bit and bothering him?
“Hip is better,” said Harris after the loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. “I felt good out there today in the minutes—I played 45—I felt good. Hopefully, I’ll feel well tomorrow (Sunday) as well. That has been a little bit of a process on the road just trying to see where I was at, but I’m glad that I was able to play today and give it a go.”
Harris, much like the Sixers as a whole, got going after halftime as Philadelphia was able to rally from a 20-point deficit. He shot 6-for-13 in the second half as Philadelphia was finally able to get into some type of groove after a miserable first half.
“In the second half, I just thought we upped the energy,” said Harris. “We helped each other out there defensively, we were pulled in all night making them make the extra pass, and try to close out and contain them. Offensively, we really just got some movement out there and was able to push the pace. We got a lot of good looks at 3s throughout the second half.”
Even in the two overtime sessions, the Sixers still had a chance to win the game. Philadelphia just let the lead slip away and allowed D’Angelo Russell to make some big shots in Minnesota.
“We felt like there were numerous times where we felt like we should’ve been able to close out,” Harris finished. “We let that opportunity slip. We had some good plays where we made shots and what I think really hurt was they really responded to that with a 3.”
The Sixers now must find a way to bounce back when they host the Orlando Magic on Monday before hitting the road again for four games.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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