NEW YORK — The Philadelphia 76ers were without Joel Embiid on Saturday afternoon as they looked to eliminate the Brooklyn Nets and move on to the Eastern Conference semifinals. Therefore, they needed somebody to step up and take over the scoring load.
That somebody was Tobias Harris, the only Sixer who could get into any type of offensive rhythm. Philadelphia shot 36-for-91 on the day, good for only 39.6%. Harris shot 11-for-19 and had 25 points to go along with 12 rebounds in a 96-88 win that eliminated the Nets.
Harris provided both the scoring and rebounding the Sixers were missing without Embiid and Philadelphia needed all of it in this one.
“Tobias is always important,” PJ Tucker said. “Nobody talks enough about Tobias on our team. To have somebody his size, especially our front 4 to be able to switch in certain situations to be able to guard bigs, guard guards, and take advantage of rebounding and being able to take advantage of teams with small guards.”
He was also terrific on the defensive end being able to ensure the Sixers got enough stops on the perimeter to fuel their offense. Philadelphia is one of those teams that need to get stops in order to get out and run on the offensive end of the floor.
“It’s hard with Joel to be able to do that a lot, but when he’s out, it’s a big factor for us,” Tucker said. “So Tobias was big on both sides of the floor today.”
Harris was huge on the offensive end on Saturday. Considering James Harden and Tyrese Maxey shot a combined 10-for-38, they needed his contribution.
“He was great, man,” Harden said of Harris. “Just attacking the basket, finishing around the rim, knocking 3s down, defensively being great. It’s a special performance for him in a close out and we needed him.”
Harris has always been a consummate professional on the Sixers, and he has been a vocal leader. Whatever Philadelphia needs from him, he steps up to the challenge and Saturday was another example of that.
“Tobias is a pro’s pro,” De’Anthony Melton said. “He always locked in and that’s why I love it. Tobias, he’s always telling us to stay with it throughout the whole year. So go see him have a series like this is huge. I love to see it.”
[lawrence-related id=78938,78935,78882]