James Harden lives up to hype in Philadelphia debut as 76ers rout Minnesota Timberwolves

MINNEAPOLIS — After an evening during which James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers could not have performed higher collectively, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 133-102 in his debut along with his new staff, the famous person guard took goal on the suggestion he’s a foul teammate.

“I do not know why,” Harden mentioned. “That is the media that claims that. I really feel like I am top-of-the-line teammates that the NBA has seen, on the courtroom and off the courtroom. Simply because the present scenario occurred, no matter occurred, occurred, it doesn’t suggest I am a foul teammate. Me personally, I really feel like I simply wanted to do what’s greatest for my profession and assist myself be blissful.”

Harden appeared awfully blissful on the ground Friday evening, ending with 27 factors, 8 rebounds and 12 assists to change into the primary participant with not less than 25 factors and 12 assists in his first sport with three totally different groups.

It was a dream debut for Harden and the 76ers (36-23), who did what they wished to the Timberwolves (32-29). They blew the sport open within the second half with crisp passing, a gradual dose of Harden and Joel Embiid pick-and-rolls and the Sixers hitting 19 of 39 pictures from behind the 3-point line because of creating so many wide-open appears.

Afterward, Harden made it clear it was just the start of what he hopes will finish with Philadelphia’s first NBA championship in virtually 4 many years.

“For certain,” Harden mentioned when requested if he has some extent to show in Philadelphia. “All of us do. Tonight was an incredible begin. However we have got a protracted option to go, and we’ll do no matter it takes each single day to construct nice habits so we’re ready when the time is true.”

These habits will start and finish with the partnership between Harden and Embiid, which in midseason kind of their first sport collectively. The Timberwolves, who lead the league in fouls per sport, might need been the right opponent to use for Harden and Embiid, two of the league’s greatest at drawing fouls.

Not surprisingly, they went to the road a mixed 22 occasions. Harden’s step-back jumper was on full show Friday evening, when he made 4 of them, together with two on which he drew and-1 fouls to provide 4-point performs.

And whereas Harden and Embiid’s pick-and-roll partnership appeared clunky at occasions, it created one wide-open shot after one other for his or her teammates and one another.

“It was nice,” Embiid mentioned. “Like I mentioned, it by no means occurred at any level in my profession, to that degree. As you recognize I’ve at all times needed to create for myself. … However it’s not nearly me. It is also about our staff.

“All the eye that he attracts or I do, it will make our teammates higher, and that is the objective, as a result of we won’t win alone. We will want all of them. … It is about giving them that confidence, as a result of after we get to the playoffs, we will want them.”

A type of different gamers who appeared to have supreme confidence was Tyrese Maxey, who had 28 factors on 12-for-16 capturing. Maxey had been serving as Philadelphia’s level guard all season within the absence of Ben Simmons and impressed along with his velocity and quickness.

These qualities had been on show repeatedly Friday evening, as Maxey obtained wherever he wished on the courtroom for open floaters and layups by knifing by the protection at will. He even knocked down a few catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, each of which got here with him utterly extensive open because of the protection collapsing on each of Philadelphia’s stars.

“Yeah. It has to,” 76ers coach Doc Rivers mentioned when requested if taking part in alongside Embiid and Harden will make life simpler for everybody else. “You’ve Joel Embiid and James Harden on the ground, and they’re gonna draw quite a lot of consideration.

“All we talked about on this day and a half, two days, is spacing and being prepared when the ball comes. And I assumed our guys total did that.”

Maxey admitted he was thrilled to now be on Harden’s facet, versus having to attempt to cease him. He laughed as he described the expertise of guarding Harden’s step-back, saying you simply must shrug when “you contact him and he will get a foul.”

“I imply, that comes due to his skill to go the ball,” Maxey mentioned of Harden. “They’re so fearful about his passing and they’re shedding and now he is creating for himself. So he is a expertise, and I simply recognize his laborious work and his communication and his dedication.”

With Harden now on the courtroom, Rivers had an opportunity to reveal whether or not he would observe by on his vow of staggering his 4 greatest offensive gamers — Embiid, Harden, Harris and Maxey — in addition to having not less than certainly one of Harden and Maxey on the ground always.

The logic was sound, as it could enable the 76ers to maximise their offense for as a lot of the sport as attainable. However it is also one thing Rivers has sometimes shied away from prior to now.

True to his phrase, nonetheless, Rivers began Friday evening’s sport doing simply that. His first substitutions of the sport, on the five-minute mark of the primary quarter, had been to take out Harden and Harris and change them with Furkan Korkmaz and Georges Niang. All through the sport — outdoors of 54 seconds throughout two stints late within the first quarter — Rivers caught to having not less than two of the 4 on the ground always. There additionally was by no means a time when both Harden or Maxey was off the courtroom apart from a defense-only possession to finish the primary.

That plan obtained thrown off-kilter within the second half, nonetheless, when Maxey went to the bench early within the third along with his fourth foul, resulting in Rivers having an all-bench lineup on the courtroom for a few minutes late ultimately of the third quarter.

Finally, although, this sport was about Harden and Embiid, and for a 76ers staff that spent months ready to see what would occur with Simmons, Friday evening was, for not less than one evening, an instance of why 76ers common supervisor Daryl Morey waited for the precise participant to return alongside earlier than buying and selling Simmons away.

Friday evening’s win marked simply the primary of 24 video games in a dash to the top of the common season for Philadelphia. However it was a dream debut for Harden and his new teammates, one which left all of them enthusiastic about what lies forward.

“We simply wish to win,” Harden mentioned. “My job is to simply come and add to it.”