Tag: Mike D’Antoni

Clint Capela has career night vs. Joel Embiid as Rockets top 76ers

With 30 points and 14 rebounds, Clint Capela had one of his finest career games in a 118-108 Rockets win over the Sixers and Joel Embiid.

Per usual, James Harden was the best player for the Houston Rockets (24-11) in Friday night’s 118-108 win over the Philadelphia 76ers (23-14).

But starting center Clint Capela was probably the X-factor in Houston’s fourth straight home victory (box score).

Playing on a sore heel and facing one of the league’s best big men in All-Star center Joel Embiid, Capela had a season-high 30 points (12-of-16 shooting) and 14 rebounds in 37 minutes.

The 25-year-old said before the game that he was quite excited by the matchup and challenge of going against Embiid, and it showed in his play.

“Whenever I get the ball, just finish hard every time,” Capela said postgame of his mindset regarding the matchup with Embiid. “Play with confidence. That’s what happened tonight.”

Capela’s 30 points were one short of his career high of 31. But given the opponent, it could easily be argued that it was his among his finest career games — especially on offense and considering his heel injury.

In postgame comments, head coach Mike D’Antoni seemed to agree. Regarding Capela, D’Antoni said:

That might be his best game in a long time. He played really well against a really good player.

Capela also fared well against Embiid defensively, limiting the 76ers star to 20 points on 7-of-17 shooting (41.2%).

Capela even made six of his eight free-throw attempts (75%), which continues a recent uptick in his performance from the line. After shooting 46.7% from the line through his first 19 games this season, Capela is at 63.4% over his last 10 games.

For the season to date, Capela is now averaging 14.5 points (64.5% shooting), 14.2 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks in 33.6 minutes per game. The rebounding total is the second-highest of any player in the NBA.

On the offensive end, Capela was certainly the beneficiary of several lobs from Harden — who was magnificent. But for the league’s scoring leader and 2018 MVP, those types of performances are becoming routine.

Harden had 44 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists for his first triple-double of the season, and his 54% shooting clip (13-of-24) extends a career-long streak of seven straight games shooting 50% or better.

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Even against the long and athletic Sixers, who remain among the NBA’s best in net defensive rating, Harden’s line probably doesn’t surprise anybody. He’s that historically good.

But for Capela to perform that well against an All-Star like Embiid, all on a sore heel? That’s the sort of complementary performance to Harden’s greatness that could keep the Rockets (24-11) moving up the West standings and into the top tier of title contenders this season.

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