It didn’t go exactly as planned, but the Philadelphia 76ers got the win that was expected of them Friday night with a 116-109 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. The Sixers maintained their perfect home record which now stands at 14-0 and improved to 20-7 on the season.
Things started out in the way we expected them to, with the Sixers building a 14-point lead by the end of the first quarter. However, the Pelicans cut the deficit down to five at the half, setting the stage for a tightly contested (and time-consuming) second half.
The Sixers restored a bit of order in the third quarter, building the lead back to 10 at the start of the fourth, but to the Pelicans’ credit they refused to go away and made the Sixers work right until the final buzzer to earn the victory. Some missed free throws down the stretch by the Sixers helped the Pelicans cause, but ultimately Philadelphia made enough plays to hold New Orleans off. It’s worth noting that although the Pelicans stayed within reach, it never really felt like the Sixers were losing control of the game.
Tobias Harris continued his stellar stretch of play, leading the Sixers with 31 points on 12-of-20 shooting. He added five rebounds and two assists and continues to get big buckets for the team. Harris has eclipsed the 20-point mark seven times in his last eight games and it’s hard to overstate how important he has been for the Sixers.
Joel Embiid delivered another strong performance, finishing with 24 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, a steal, and a block. He also only had two turnovers. He wasn’t as efficient as he was against the Celtics, shooting 6-of-16, but he made up for it by earning 14 trips to the free-throw line, connecting on 11 of them. It’s worth noting that Embiid was once again playing the second of a back-to-back, and he managed to produce Friday’s stat line after playing 36 minutes in Boston on Thursday.
Ben Simmons bounced back with a much more aggressive and productive offensive game Friday night, scoring 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field and 6-of-10 from the charity stripe. He added 11 assists, three rebounds, three steals, and two blocks. Simmons had just one turnover.
Josh Richardson chipped in eight points and five rebounds, while Mike Scott again got the start for Al Horford and added five points and nine rebounds.
James Ennis III again gave the Sixers some really good minutes off the bench, finishing with 10 points, three assists, two rebounds, and a block. Norvel Pelle also provided a spark off the bench with six points, five rebounds, three blocks, and two assists. Two of those blocks came on back-to-back possessions and led to a dunk and a 3-pointer at the other end for the Sixers.
Considering it was the second game of a back-to-back and following an intense road win against a rival, it was a nice, gritty win for the Sixers.
The Miami Heat lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in Miami Friday night, leaving the Sixers as the lone NBA team that is perfect at home. Philadelphia’s win also pushed the Sixers into second place in the Eastern Conference.
The Sixers will look to continue their solid play on Sunday when they take on the Nets in Brooklyn. That game is scheduled for a 6:00 PM tip. [lawrence-related id=21272,21261,21239,21229]
