MANHATTAN, N.Y.–The Philadelphia 76ers were able to come away with a 125-109 win over the New York Knicks on Sunday afternoon to complete a 3-0 road trip and usher the James Harden era in with two consecutive road wins.
Harden had another impressive game as he had a triple-double of 29 points, 16 assists, and 10 rebounds to go along with five steals in the win. He was able to make big plays all day long and he kept the Sixers calm even when the Knicks rallied and took the lead in the fourth quarter and Madison Square Garden got loud.
Considering it was just his second game with a brand new team and just his second game since Feb. 2, it was another really impressive performance for Harden.
“Just his way of figuring out,” said coach Doc Rivers. “He did a little bit of everything. The biggest thing was the steals, he had his hands everywhere, but I thought offensively, because they’re (the Knicks) a pretty solid defensive team, they made us really think and figure things out on the fly. I thought James did a great job of orchestrating where guys should be.”
When Harden did grab his 10th rebound to complete the triple-double, the number of Sixers fans who made the trip up to New York gave him a big cheer. However, The Beard was more focused on making sure Philadelphia came out with a win.
“Everybody was telling me to get it,” Harden laughed. “I didn’t know before, but everybody was like ’10 rebounds!’ I was like ‘alright, whatever’. Honestly, I was just so focused on winning the game, man, and just try to play well and get guys involved and do things each and every possession to where in the fourth quarter, they made a good run, even took the lead, and we just try to get a good shot every time down the floor. I feel like if we got that, we had a really good chance of winning.”
Even the five steals Harden came up with was a big help in this one.
“Just being active, try to be in the right spots,” he explained. “A couple of them I gambled and didn’t get, but just try to use my IQ and just trying to be aggressive defensively. Those steals led to our easy transition offense.”
The 16 assists for Harden is an impressive number and this comes after he had 12 assists in the win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday in his debut. As he continues to grow with his new team, it’s important that his teammates continue to understand where they have to be on the floor and that will be a progression going forward.
“It’s amazing what he does,” said Tyrese Maxey. “I just talked about it last time. His IQ level is extremely high. He knows where he wants guys, he puts guys in the right spot, and when you’re open, he’s gonna find you.”
The Sixers will take on the Knicks again on Wednesday back at home in Philadelphia. That will give Harden another chance to continue to grow with his new team.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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