The Philadelphia 76ers traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota and earned their 36th victory of the season Friday night.
The 76ers blew out the Timberwolves 133-102 to improve to 36-23 overall on the season.
James Harden made his 76ers debut and looked like “Houston Rockets Harden” on the court; he scored 27 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the field. It’s also worth noting that he made 5-for-7 from the three-point line, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out 12 assists in 35 minutes of play (check out what James Harden’s betting props were pre-game).
Harden was on the court COOKING and he spoke on his team’s play and his strong play postgame.
“We’re unselfish, we just want to win,” Harden said. “We’ve got guys, from top to bottom, that it feels that way on the court. Great things are going to happen more times than not. My job is to come in and add to each individual on this team.”
Harden also spoke postgame about being accused as a bad teammate. He also spoke on why he wanted this trade to the 76ers.
“I don’t know why,” Harden said. “That’s for the media. The media say that. I feel like I’m one of the best teammates that the NBA’s seen, on the court and off the court.”
“Just because the current situation happened, whatever happened, happened,” Harden said. “It doesn’t mean that I’m a bad teammate. Me, personally, I feel like I needed to do what’s best for my career, and help myself and be happy. It doesn’t harp on whether I’m a bad teammate or not.”
Joel Embiid also had a strong game for the 76ers. Embiid scored 34 points on 10-for-18 shooting from the field. He knocked down 3-for-5 from the three-point line. Embiid grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out three assists as well. Embiid spoke postgame about his new teammate, James Harden’s debut.
“That’s what I expected,” said Embiid, smiling wide as the two shared a postgame press conference table. “I’ve never been wide open like this in my life. Seriously, the passing, like I wasn’t even expecting it and it was just coming.”
More 76ers Contributions
- Tyrese Maxey scored 28 points, grabbed two rebounds, and dished out two assists.
- Matisse Thybulle scored 11 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out two assists.
The Philadelphia 76ers travel to New York City to face the New York Knicks on Sunday 2/27. Tip-off is at 1 pm Eastern/12 pm Central from Madison Square Garden. The game will air nationally on ABC.
