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Tobias Harris and Matisse Thybulle feed off fans’ big energy in impressive victory | Sixers-Spurs best/worst

In addition to his game-high 23 points, Harris had nine rebounds and seven assists and finished a game-best plus-36.

Tobias Harris goes up for two of his 23 points, between the San Antonio Spurs' Trey Lyles and Jakob Poeltl.
Tobias Harris goes up for two of his 23 points, between the San Antonio Spurs' Trey Lyles and Jakob Poeltl.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer
    by Keith Pompey
    Updated 
    Published 

The vibe inside the Wells Fargo Center was just as impressive as the 76ers’ on-court performance.

One can argue that the 3,071 paid fans in attendance Sunday night had a lot to do with the Sixers’ 134-99 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. The energy in the arena for the Sixers’ first game with paid fans in attendance since March 11, 2020 was amazing.

Here’s a look at the best and worst awards from the game:

Best performance

Tobias Harris gets this. Ben Simmons (14 points, nine assists), Seth Curry (21 points) and Furkan Korkmaz (16 points, 4-for-4 on three-pointers) were all worthy candidates for the Sixers. But Harris had the best game. In addition to his game-high 23 points, he had nine rebounds as well as seven assists to tie a season high, and finished a game-best plus-36. The Sixers also improved to 17-3 this season when he scores 20 or more points.

Worst performance

Rudy Gay gets this. The Spurs forward failed to score for the first time this season, missing all six of his shots. He was also a minus-20 in 13 minutes, 23 seconds of action.

» READ MORE: Return of Sixers fans a necessary step toward normal | David Murphy

Best defensive performance

Matisse Thybulle gets this. With Simmons back, Thybulle returned to a reserve role after starting the previous two games. The move didn’t hinder his production. The shooting guard finished with a game-high three steals to go with one block. Thybulle has totaled 11 steals in the last three games. In addition to his stellar defense, Thybulle had 10 points on 4-for-4 shooting, including two three-pointers.

Worst statistic

This goes to the Spurs’ three-point shooting. They made 4 of 21 attempts for 19%.

Best statistic

This goes to the Sixers’ three-point shooting. They shot 15-for-29 for 51.7%.

» READ MORE: In welcoming fans to the Wells Fargo Center, the Sixers took a necessary step toward normal | David Murphy

Best of the best

This goes to the fans in attendance. As I tweeted Sunday night, there’s nothing like Philly sports fans. That energy far exceeded that of the places where the Sixers played on the road this season with fans. Simmons was right about the Wells Fargo Center feeling like it was a packed arena.