What Stood Out for 76ers in Double OT Loss to Rockets?

The 76ers dropped their third-straight game on the road against the Houston Rockets on Monday.

James Harden joined the Philadelphia 76ers during the final phase of their three-game road trip on Monday night. After missing last week’s road matchups against the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Memphis Grizzlies, Harden ended up missing 14 straight games due to his recovery timetable from a tendon strain in his foot. 

On Sunday night, Harden was upgraded to questionable for Monday’s game against the Houston Rockets. Hours before tip-off on Monday, the Sixers cleared the ten-time All-Star for action. Harden joined the Sixers’ lineup for the first time since the November 2 matchup against the Washington Wizards.

Monday’s matchup seemed like an ideal opportunity for the Sixers to get their star back into the mix, as they faced a young Rockets team that had just six wins going into the matchup.

But the 76ers quickly found out that Monday’s game wouldn’t be a breeze, and they didn’t have much wiggle room for mistakes. 

After establishing a ten-point lead early, the Sixers were in good shape to begin the matchup as Harden and Joel Embiid notched double-digits in scoring to get the Sixers off to a 30-27 start. However, the Rockets battled back and went into halftime with a 56-55 lead.

The Sixers and the Rockets traded shots in the second half. While Houston found some comfortable separation going into the fourth quarter, the Sixers managed to outscore the Rockets 24-18 in the fourth quarter, forcing overtime.

The game couldn’t be settled in one period of free basketball. With both teams scoring nine points, the Sixers and the Rockets needed a second overtime period to find a winner. That’s when Houston took advantage and put the Sixers away once and for all.

With a disappointing upset loss, the Sixers drop their third-straight game to fall to 12-12 on the season. What stood out for Philadelphia on Monday night?

Harden’s Return 

Expecting James Harden to come back from a 14-game absence due to a foot injury in tip-top shape and playing like an MVP candidate wasn’t realistic. While Harden’s presence and playmaking made a significant difference early on, it was clear the veteran guard has some rust to shake off.

From the field, Harden hit on just four of his 19 attempts. That’s well below his season average of 44 percent from the field. The star guard was able to generate nine of his 21 points directly from the charity stripe. In addition to scoring, Harden produced seven assists.

The biggest concerns surrounding Harden were the seven turnovers he committed and the 38 minutes he played. Going into the game, the Sixers’ plan was to have Harden on a minutes restriction. Obviously, double overtime threw a wrench in the strategy. Therefore, Harden ended up playing more than his season average of 37 minutes, exceeding 38 minutes of playing time for the third time this season. 

Fortunately, Harden and the Sixers will get a few days off. So the veteran has time to rest before the team’s next game.

Foul Trouble

In the first quarter, four members of the Sixers’ starting five had two fouls apiece. After the game, Doc Rivers mentioned that early foul trouble “killed” the Sixers’ rotations.

The Sixers utilized 11 players on Monday. While the Rockets dealt with some foul troubles themselves, sending Embiid and Harden to the line for 27 attempts combined, Philadelphia fouled seven more times than their opponent. 

By the time the second overtime period approached, Joel Embiid’s night was finished as he fouled out after seeing the court for 35 minutes. Considering Embiid was key for Philadelphia’s offense down the stretch, scoring nine of the team’s 24 points in the fourth quarter and four of the Sixers’ nine points in the first OT, a lack of Embiid in the final five minutes really hurt Philly. 

Another Tough Night on the Boards

Turnovers and rebounding were the two key factors the Sixers blamed for their Friday night loss in Memphis. While they had just as many turnovers as the Rockets on Monday, the Sixers once again were dominated in the rebounding department. 

Houston grabbed offensive rebounds at a high rate against the Sixers. According to Cleaning the Glass, the Rockets snagged 53 percent of their offensive rebounds in the halfcourt. Going into Monday’s matchup between the Sixers and the Rockets, the NBA’s league average for offensive rebounds per game was 10.5. Houston managed to grab 16 boards on the offensive end against the Sixers.

Overall, the Rockets led the rebounding battle by 12 boards on Monday night. Over the last three games, the Sixers have been out-rebounded by nearly 40 boards between matchups with Cleveland, Memphis, and Houston. 

Any Silver Linings?

Don’t ask the Sixers if they had any positive takeaways from Monday’s matchup. As the more experienced team should’ve won the early December matchup, the Sixers are going to conclude their three-game road trip understandably frustrated.

But it should be noted that once again, Embiid looked like a dominant force on offense, and Tobias Harris followed up a strong performance with another hot shooting night in Houston. 

Harris averaged 16 points per game ahead of Monday’s matchup. His season-high was recently exceeded during an outing last Sunday against the Orlando Magic when Harris scored 25 points in 29 minutes. He topped that total on Monday with a 27-point outing in Houston, making seven of his eight three-point attempts.

As for Embiid, he scored a game-high of 39 points in 35 minutes. It was the fifth time this year Embiid exceeded 35 points. Neither of the standout offensive performances translated to a win. Therefore, Harris and Embiid are unlikely to be satisfied with their personal showings on Monday.

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