PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers were able to pick up a 121-101 win over the Brooklyn Nets in Game 1 of their Round 1 series on Sunday. They were able to receive 26 points from Joel Embiid, 23 from James Harden, and 21 from Tobias Harris, but the bench played a big role.
When Embiid was off the floor, the Sixers thrived. The minutes led by Harden were terrific. The Sixers played him out there with De’Anthony Melton, Jalen McDaniels, Groeges Niang, and Paul Reed and they were allowed to get out and run.
When Reed entered the contest for Embiid with 58 seconds left in the first quarter with Philadelphia leading 27-23 and when Embiid re-entered the game, the Sixers led 44-38. Those minutes are important to sustain in the playoffs.
“Just Doc (Rivers) and myself just on the same page in the sense of in that second unit and who’s out there,” Harden added. “Who’s gonna be playing on the court and what we’re trying to accomplish? We can’t make it too difficult. We got to make it easy and know what we’re trying to accomplish. I think that group will Melt and J-Mac and Georges and P-Reed, we get it.”
The Sixers understand that they are not going to be perfect out on the floor without Embiid, but if they can play the way they did on Saturday, then this is a promising sign for them moving forward.
“Obviously, everything isn’t gonna be great, but defensively, we have to get stops and then offensively as much space as we can, and I’ll do all the work and guys just need to be ready to shoot and make plays finish,” Harden added. “Tonight (Saturday) was a great example of that and that unit is going to be extremely key.”
To start the fourth quarter, Reed was out on the floor in place of Embiid with Philadelphia leading it 93-81. When Embiid re-entered the game, the Sixers led 103-89 and those minutes are extremely important in order for the big fella to get his rest during this postseason run.
“The start of the second quarter, start the fourth quarters, that’s a big part of the game, and if we can manage it, and be even or even take the lead, then that’s a bonus for us,” Harden finished. “So tonight was a great start for us and we got to be even better Game 2.”
The Sixers will host the Nets on Monday in Game 2 of this series.
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