Sixers regular season Bell Ringer standings:Joel Embiid- 9James Harden- 6Shake Milton- 4Tobias Harris- 4Tyrese Maxey- 3Paul Reed- 2De'Anthony Melton- 1Georges Niang- 1In the first half, Los Angeles stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George were hitting everything, and the Clippers bench was outclassing that of the Sixers. LA formulated a 20-point advantage, and it was easy to envision a forthcoming Sixers loss and the, "Oh well, a 6-1 homestand is still terrific" mindset to follow. But the Sixers had other ideas, chipping away at the deficit and then surging ahead with a huge third quarter. The superstars led the way, but Philadelphia received contributions from the second unit as well. The Clippers fought back and even briefly retook the lead midway through the fourth quarter, but the Sixers once again displayed great mental fortitude in finishing off a 119-114 win. Let's look at the top performances after the Sixers finished off a perfect 7-0 homestand.James Harden: 20 points, 11 rebounds Philadelphia Store, 21 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnoversKyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports How can one of the best scorers of his generation now be one of the best passers of his generation? Doesn't seem fair. Harden tied Wilt Chamberlain and Mo Cheeks for the Sixers franchise record with 21 assists in this game. Illustrious company, to say the least. The Beard collects those dimes in every way imaginable: feathery entry passes that float just out of the defender's reach, rocket passes downcourt in transition, pinpoint homing missiles through traffic in pick-and-rolls, seemingly casual swing passes around the arc that nestle right into the shooting pocket. James is a maestro on the court and making life so much easier for all of his teammates. Oh, and he also had a triple-double just for fun.20 PTS11 REB21 ASTSixers WJames Harden becomes only the 8th player in NBA history to record 70 triple-doubles. NBA December 24, 2022Joel Embiid: 44 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks Georges Niang Jersey, 1 turnoverKyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports That a 44-point night isn't the headliner speaks to the historic nature of Harden's outing, but also how routine something like this from Embiid has become. Joel helped keep the team afloat when the Clippers started out red hot with 15 points of his own in the first quarter. He was an assassin in the mid-range tonight, perhaps taking a page out of opponent Kawhi Leonard's playbook. When he found a smaller defender on him via switch or by sprinting downcourt in transition, Embiid did an excellent job of sealing to create space for the entry pass to come in and turn for the easy bucket. He also brought the game home with 10 points in the final seven minutes of the contest. As always, soak up every minute of the Joel Embiid experience.Joel Embiid tonight:44 PTS7 REB3 ASTThe Sixers win their 7th straight NBA December 24 https://www.philadelphiafanproshop.com/Pj_Tucker_Jersey-35, 2022De'Anthony Melton: 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 0 turnoversPhoto by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images As has so often been the case this season, Melton served as a perfect complementary piece to the team's two higher-profile players. De'Anthony had a pair of steal in a one-minute span late in the third quarter; both led directly to transition buckets as the Sixers finally retook the lead. He also hit a trio of treys in the second half, one a highly-contested stepback with a couple minutes left in the game to stretch the lead to seven points. This man is the dawg mentality meme incarnate.James Harden finds DeAnthony Melton for the open triple Sixers Nation December 24, 2022
