PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers picked up a 124-115 matinee win over the Houston Rockets on Monday mainly due to Joel Embiid. The big fella had 41 points and 10 rebounds in his return from a knee injury.
However, the bench unit gave the Sixers a big lift.
The six reserves that played combined for 34 points led by Patrick Beverly, who had 11 points, six assists and five rebounds. Marcus Morris Sr. contributed eight points and five boards. Paul Reed chipped in seven points and four rebounds. Danuel House Jr. finished with six points and five boards.
Beverley did a terrific job in the third quarter to stabilize the Sixers when the Rockets threatened to take the lead. The veteran presence of Beverley played a huge part for Philadelphia.
“That’s who he is,” Morris said. “He’s a veteran, always under control, efficient, and knows who the ball needs to go to.”
Beverley brings abundant energy and passion, which is a big plus for the Sixers.
“I just think he plays the game — he loves and plays with so much passion that I just think that if that’s kind of in your heart all the time that good things are gonna happen to you as a player personally,” coach Nick Nurse said. “It certainly happened for him tonight, and it was a big effect for our team as well.”
Overall, the bench unit played well. Nurse wanted to give the group a shoutout, especially, for what it did in the first half to help the Sixers create separation.
“Great job in the first half the way those guys — they really did a great job,” Nurse added. “I thought they started jarring the ball loose. I thought they were really, again, ball movement. I thought they were in, out, over with some passes, creating shots for each other. Yeah really, really great stint by kind of the start of the second quarter, too. Tobias (Harris), House had a really good — I thought House had one of his best stints for a while. Pat Bev got another good game.”
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