PHILADELPHIA — Right now, the 76ers plan to live life like a cliché.
“Game by game, one at a time, same as always,” P.J. Tucker said of the Sixers’ grueling six-game stretch coming out of the NBA All-Star break. “It’s no different.”
That approach was successful Thursday night. The Sixers stayed locked in and battled back from a 17-point deficit to defeat Memphis Grizzlies, 110-105, at the Wells Fargo Center.
The Sixers took the lead for good when Tobias Harris hit a three-pointer to give them a 106-105 lead with 39.1 seconds remaining. Then Joel Embiid’s breakaway dunk added the exclamation point and put them up, 108-105, with 23.3 seconds left.
After a timeout, Desmond Bane missed two wide-open three-pointers before Jaren Jackson Jr. missed another corner three. Jalen McDaniels grabbed the rebound and the Sixers called timeout with 9.4 seconds left.
Things got heated between Embiid and Dillon Brooks with 6.5 ticks left after Jackson fouled Harris. Brooks appeared to have a hand on Embiid, who turned around and shoved the Memphis forward. They both received technical fouls on the play before Harris sank a pair of foul shots to give the Sixers their five-point margin of victory. They scored the final seven points of the game.
The Sixers power forward scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. James Harden scored 31 points to move past Sixers great and Hall of Famer Allen Iverson for 26th on the NBA all-time scoring list. And Embiid finished with 27 points and game-highs in rebounds (19) and blocks (six) but battled through a 7-for-25 shooting night while playing with a non-COVID-19 illness.
This matchup kicked off a grueling stretch for the Sixers (39-19), who play home games against the Boston Celtics on Saturday and Miami Heat on Monday. They then have a road back-to-back against the Heat on Wednesday and Dallas Mavericks on March 2, with theMilwaukee Bucks on March 4 after that.
But Thursday’s victory kept the Sixers, who sit at third in the East, three games behind the Celtics (43-17) with 24 games remaining. In the process, they avenged a humbling 117-109 setback to the Grizzlies (35-23) on Dec. 2 at the FedExForum.
Back then, Harden and Tyrese Maxey (16 points) were sidelined and the Sixers looked like a team that would have a tough time contending.
Harden and Maxey both played Thursday and provided a big boon for the Sixers. And the team did a better job of keeping the Grizzlies off the boards.Thanks in large part to Embiid, this time the Sixers only had a 49-43 rebounding disadvantage after being outrebounded before by 57-42.,
Passing Iverson
Harden needed 14 points to pass Iverson on the all-time regular season scoring list at 24,369. He passed him with a three-pointer with 1 minute, 42 seconds remaining in the first half. That basket gave Harden 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting before intermission.
The future Hall of Famer has 24,386 after scoring his 31 points on 10-for-16 shooting — including a 6 of 9 mark on three-pointers. Harden also had seven rebounds and seven assists.
Embiid battles through illness
Embiid was cleared to play after missing Wednesday morning’s shootaround with a non-COVID-19 illness.
The six-time All-Star was visibly impacted on Thursday night. He missed his first six shots. However, he was able to get to the foul line, making 5 of 8 attempts while scoring seven points in the first quarter. Embiid was also aggressive on the boards, grabbing six rebounds. And as a team, the Sixers made just 6 of 23 shots while trailing 37-22 after one quarter. Embiid finished the first half with nine points on 2-for-14 shooting to go with 12 rebounds.
Embiid picked up steam in the second half, scoring the first four points en route to scoring 10 points in the quarter. He also had eight points on 3-for-5 shooting in the fourth quarter.
Ring the bell flow
Mac McClung has yet to practice with the Sixers after signing his two-way contract with the team on Feb. 14. However, McClung was on hand Thursday night to ring the Sixers’ ceremonial bellbefore the game. The point guard received a huge applause from the crowd for winning the NBA Slam Dunk contest at NBA All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City.
