Player grades: James Harden returns, but Sixers tripped up by Rockets

James Harden returns to the floor, but the Philadelphia 76ers are tripped up by the Houston Rockets on the road.

After missing 14 games, Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden returned to the floor on Monday to take on the Houston Rockets. The Sixers had dropped the first two games of the road trip and were looking to at least salvage one before returning home.

Harden helped the offense flow a bit better, but he didn’t shoot the ball well and he had a tough time on defense as the Rockets handed the Sixers another loss, 132-123, in double overtime. Philadelphia finished the trip 0-3 and will try to bounce back when they return home for a seven-game homestand starting on Friday.

The Beard had 21 points and seven assists in his return. Joel Embiid had 39 points and seven rebounds to lead the Sixers before fouling out. Tobias Harris had 27 points while drilling seven 3s. De’Anthony Melton added nine points, eight rebounds and six assists. Shake Milton hopped off the bench and added 11 points and four assists.

Here are the player grades following the loss: