Tobias Harris Explains 76ers’ Success vs. Pistons on Wednesday

Tobias Harris and the 76ers found success against the Pistons on Wednesday.

The Philadelphia 76ers are on a roll. While their current win streak hasn’t come without criticism, the Sixers have accomplished their primary goal over the last six games by winning.

Sixers veteran Tobias Harris has been a key reason for that. While the forward missed a game recently against the Golden State Warriors due to back pain, Harris was a key factor over the Sixers’ last two matchups.

The 76ers don’t win their Monday night matchup against the Toronto Raptors without Harris’ sharpshooting. By draining seven of his nine shots, with five makes from three, Harris completed the overtime battle with 21 points in 42 minutes.

On Wednesday, the Sixers looked to continue building on their current season-high win streak as they hosted the rebuilding Detroit Pistons for the first time this year.

“We knew coming into the game that we were going to have to create our energy tonight and keep working on what’s been successful for us,” Harris said on Wednesday night. “Just come out and try to dominate. We know that winning is hard in the NBA, and each and every night, you’re going to be presented with a different matchup and different opportunity.”

Facing the Eastern Conference’s last-place team, the Sixers were a heavy favorite over the Pistons on Wednesday night. As of late, the Sixers have had slow starts or bad finishes against teams they are favored over, which has caused some concern for outsiders looking in.

On Wednesday, the Sixers were supposed to dominate and collect themselves a comfortable win. Fortunately for them, the Sixers did that, and Harris credited the team’s focus as a reason why they were able to find success on Wednesday.

“For our group right now, it’s just staying focused and staying locked into the goal and try to continue to string together more and more wins,” Harris explained. “I thought we did a great job of that tonight, just coming out and playing our game. A little bit of ups and downs throughout the game, but we were able to handle whatever type of small run they were able to have and just play our type of basketball.”

Harris wrapped up another efficient shooting night on Wednesday. By putting up nine shots from the field, the veteran drained six of his attempts, totaling 17 points in 21 minutes. He was one of six 76ers to score double-digits.

Finding success against Detroit on Wednesday, the Sixers sent the Pistons home with a 113-93 loss. Now, the Sixers are sitting at 18-12 and will focus their attention on the Los Angeles Clippers, who will come to town on Friday night. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.