Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris has been up and down as of late as he continues to find his rhythm. After a miserable night in the win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday to begin this current three-game road trip, he needed a bounce-back night on Friday.
The Charlotte Hornets were just what the doctor ordered. Harris had 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting and he shot 3-for-5 from deep as the Sixers walked away with an easy 121-82 win over the Hornets to improve to 2-0 on this road trip.
Joel Embiid led Philadelphia with 38 points on 16-for-21 shooting as he was once again dominant out on the floor and he had 13 rebounds and five assists, but he understands how important Harris is to their success. The Sixers will go as far as Embiid and James Harden take them, but they are really going to need Harris to step up and produce like this.
“Tobias was good,” Embiid told reporters. “It seems like he’s getting back to himself. We’re going to need that every game. The ball moved pretty well. Everybody touched it. Then defensively, we were all in sync.”
Harris is the definition of a rhythm player. When the ball is moving and the ball is able to find him in his spots, that’s when he thrives. Philadelphia’s defensive effort also allowed the Sixers to play in transition and play with speed. That always helps.
“I was just taking advantage of the opportunity,” Harris told NBC Sports Philadelphia on the sideline after the win. “I thought we did a great job defensively of creating stops and getting out in transition and I was able to find some good looks, easy looks, and be aggressive, and take advantage of it.”
Harris and the Sixers will now take on the Indiana Pacers on Saturday to finish up this road trip.
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