Sixers vs. Knicks takeaways: James Harden’s development, team’s ‘inner-confidence’ and slow starts

NEW YORK — James Harden has figured out when to pick his spots.

The 76ers are not quite there yet, but they are starting to grow a sense of invincibility. But they need to erase their slow starts.

Below is my look at three things that stood out during Sunday’s 119-112 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Deciding when to score or get teammates involved was something Harden had to work on after joining the Sixers via a trade last season.

Harden’s Christmas Day performance showed that he’s perfected his decision-making.

The point guard finished with 29 points to go with game highs of 13 assists and four steals.

With the Sixers needing a spark in the first quarter, he was aggressive and got to the foul line, making 4 of 5 free throws.

» READ MORE: Sixers recover from slow start, ill-timed report to beat New York Knicks, 119-112, on Christmas Day

Getting teammates involved, Harden had five assists in the second quarter. He took a backseat when Joel Embiid was cooking in the third quarter. But he took over after Embiid left late in the quarter.

And after Georges Niang hit several big shots, Harden focused on feeding him the ball. Afterward, Harden acknowledged that he now knows when to score or be a facilitator.

“And then it’s constant communication between me and Doc,” Harden said of Sixers coach Doc Rivers. “Like if he sees a play or I see something, he’ll let me do something, he’ll let me go. [Today] was one of those scenarios where he just let me go [and continue a two-man game with Niang]. I found something, and we got what we wanted every possession.”

One would assume the Sixers (20-12) are very confident, feeling that they can’t lose.

Sunday marked their eighth consecutive victory and second straight where they battled back from a double-digit, first-half deficit.

The Sixers trailed the Los Angeles Clippers by 20 points in the second quarter of Friday’s 119-114 victory at the Wells Fargo Center. And they were down 14 in the first quarter to the Knicks.

But instead of panicking, Harden and Embiid showed why they’re turning into one of the league’s best pairings. They also got timely baskets from teammates.

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“We were getting there,” Harden said of a refuse-to-lose confidence. “We try not to have that feeling, because obviously we can be beaten any night. Some of the guys were talking about that in the locker room after the game.

“We just have to take it one game at a time. One approach, one game at a time and just continue to get better.”

Harden said the Sixers are hitting their stride, getting better at both ends of the court. He said the team is heading in the right direction toward their destination: the NBA Finals. And Harden thinks the strides they’re making will make them difficult to beat as the season goes on.

“I think we are growing confidence,” Rivers said. “I don’t think it’s at the level where we want to still grow it, obviously. But it’s almost a replay of the game the other night, but better tonight.

“Being down didn’t faze the group. They have an inner confidence, and that’s good thing for your team.”

The Sixers are going to eventually get burned by a slow start. That could happen on Tuesday against the Washington Wizards at the Capital One Arena. If not then, there’s a great chance of that happening against the New Orleans Pelicans Friday night at Smoothie King Arena.

“We’ve got to change it, for the start,” Embiid said. “Once again, I like to put it all on myself. It’s all my fault. If I’m not aggressive and I’m not dominant to start the game, it just translates to the whole team.

“So I just got to do a better job of just being better and just being dominant from the start. It’s all on me.”

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Embiid did struggle in the first quarter, missing four of his six shots to finish with five points. He was minus-14 in the quarter.

The Sixers trailed, 37-25, after the first 12 minutes because of their defensive shortcoming. The Knicks had 16 points in the paint and eight second-chance points in the quarter.

“Our defense, man; we gave up 24 second-chance points?” Harden said. “Way too many points, but we have to rebound, and our guards did a good job. They are a long team, a big team especially Julius [Randle] and [Mitchell] Robinson. We had to do a very good job of boxing out and we gave ourselves a chance.”