In his 76ers debut, James Harden scored 27 points and added 12 assists and eight rebounds as Philadelphia crushed the Timberwolves 133–102 on Friday night in Minneapolis.
It was a much-anticipated debut for Harden, who was acquired at the trade deadline earlier this month from the Nets. Harden and veteran forward Paul Millsap were traded to Philadelphia in exchange for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two future first-round picks.
It was a landscape-altering move in the Eastern Conference, as Harden was paired with MVP candidate Joel Embiid to further cement the 76ers as an NBA Finals contender.
Skeptics of the trade were wondering how Harden would fit with Embiid, but their first game together yielded nothing but offensive excellence. Embiid looked like his usual self, scoring a game-high 34 points on 11-for-13 shooting from the floor with 10 rebounds.
The victory moved the Sixers (36–23) into the third seed in the East, as they are now 2.5 games behind the Heat and Bulls, who are tied atop the conference at 39–21.
If the first game is any indication, Harden’s fit with the Embiid 76ers may be the extra boost Philadelphia needed in a postseason push.
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