Sixers vs. Pistons takeaways: James Harden’s a ‘scoring Magic Johnson’; Matisse Thybulle’s thievery

DETROIT — Doc Rivers compared James Harden to Magic Johnson ... sort of.

Matisse Thybulle has stealing the ball down to a science, and Paul Reed caused so much ‘havoc.’

Below is my look at three things that stood out during Sunday’s 123-111 victory over the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena.

Rivers wants Harden to be aggressive while also picking his spots to score. And that’s exactly what the point guard has done this season.

The Pistons (11-32) received an up-close view of how Harden operates and were unable to stop it. The Sixers point guard finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in just 28 minutes, 3 seconds, turning in his second triple-double of the season.

» READ MORE: James Harden’s triple-double, balanced scoring lead undermanned Sixers to 123-111 rout of Pistons

“When he does that,” Rivers said of picking his spots, “I hate the example, but I keep using that he’s a scoring Magic Johnson, you know? When he runs our team with pace, and scores and assists, then we are really good.”

That’s been obvious this season.

Harden is averaging 10.8 assists. But the Sixers are 4-0 when he has at least 15 assists. The Sixers (24-15) are 2-0 when he records a triple-double.

It’s hard to believe that Thybulle was out of the rotation during two stretches this season.

That’s because the Sixers guard showed why he was named second-team All-Defense in each of the past two seasons. He finished with a game-high five steals against the Pistons.

“At this point, I think they were just passing it to him,” Tyrese Maxey said of Thybulle routinely getting in the way of Pistons’ passes. “But nah, he’s just good. That’s why he’s good at it. He’s good at getting his hands on a lot of deflections, a lot of balls and stuff like that.”

The five steals tied Thybulle’s season-high. He also had five against the Utah Jazz on Nov. 13.

Thybulle also played 22:56. The Sixers improved to 9-0 when he plays at least 20 minutes.

Reed said his mindset was playing was the right way in Rivers’ eyes.

“That’s what I did,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to force shots. When I got an offensive rebound, he likes the kickout threes. I was looking for them.”

And Reed grabbed plenty of offensive rebounds, a career-best eight to be exact. The third-year veteran finishing with 16 points and 12 rebounds overall to finish with his third double-double. Ten of his points came in the fourth quarter.

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“He just causes so much havoc,” Tyrese Maxey said. “Sometimes I don’t know what he’s doing, but he’s running around and playing with so much energy that the other team can’t keep up. There’s energy that he’s bringing when he’s rolling, offensive rebounding, blocking shots, getting steals, and being disruptive on the defensive end.”

Maxey was proud of Reed because the third-string center sometimes can become lost playing behind All-NBA selection Joel Embiid and Montrezl Harrell. Maxey said it’s hard for a player to not compete a couple of games in a row.

“But to be able to go out there and be ready as soon as your number is called is big,” Maxey said.