PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers needed somebody to give them a boost on Friday night. The Sixers looked a bit sluggish in the early stages against the Toronto Raptors and found themselves trailing by 15 in the first half.
If it wasn’t for the brilliance of Tobias Harris, the Sixers would have likely been trialing by much more. Harris kept Philadelphia in the game almost single-handedly and made a ton of winning plays to help Philadelphia knock off the Raptors 121-111.
Harris finished with 33 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists on a night the Sixers really needed it. He had 24 points in the first half with Joel Embiid struggling a bit at the start and the big fella was appreciative of his effort.
“He was great,” Embiid said of Harris. “I told him he was decisive. He wasn’t thinking about it. He either had a shot or he drove, quick decisions, and when they collapsed, he made the right play. That’s how he’s gotta play every night.”
Harris benefited a lot from the Raptors shading attention towards both Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. When that happens, then that allows him to be able to get some open looks from deep and help this group move forward.
“Give them some credit,” said coach Nick Nurse. “I think they did a good job of playing it for Joel and I think the ball was where it needed to go a lot and it happened to be Tobias, right? I think he kinda felt that early and I think sometimes the ball energizes you to do other things, too.”
Harris has stated in the past that he thrives off that dribble-and-kick style of basketball. The Raptors did what they had to do against Maxey and Embiid, but when they kept making the right decisions to kick out to Harris, that’s when the veteran out of Tennessee was able to make a big impact.
“That was huge,” Harris said of his successful night. “I think that started it off. Those drive and kicks for open looks and letting it fly and making it and then being able to go out there and play with the second unit as well…Through that drive and kick basketball. Making that extra pass, extra play, and then it’s a domino effect all the way through where we’re able to, second and third quarter get guys on backdoor cuts and whatnot. So those things always increase the flow of the game, the rhythm of the game, and for me, that definitely helped me out a whole lot.”
It also helps that Harris is a talented player. Despite some tough stretches recently, the veteran continues to be a reliable player for this group.
“I keep saying Tobias is a really good player,” Nurse said with a smile. “He does a lot of things. Sometimes the shots find you, sometimes they don’t, and tonight the ball found him a little more and he took advantage of it.”
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