Sixers-Kings takeaways: Tobias Harris changing fan perception; Nico Batum ends shooting slump

Tobias Harris is silencing his haters.

Nico Batum broke out of his shooting slump. And Paul Reed and Mo Bamba did a terrific job filling in for Joel Embiid.

Those three things stood out in the 76ers’ 112-93 victory over the Sacramento Kings Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

Harris has been one of the most criticized Sixers since signing his five-year deal on July 10, 2019.

A lot of the hate comes from fans who think he hasn’t lived up to the $180 million contract he received. Well, they couldn’t talk about his lucrative contract against the Kings. Harris showed flashes of the ability that spurred the Sixers (24-13) to give him to a near-maximum salary. He finished with a season-high 37 points along with seven rebounds and three steals.

This marked the first time Harris scored 30 or more points in consecutive games in his career. He had 32 points in Wednesday’s road loss to the Atlanta Hawks. The Sixers are making a more conscious effort to get him involved in the offense, and he’s even initiated action in these two recent performances.

Things will probably change once Embiid returns from a sore left knee. But Harris’ newfound role has been great for him and the Sixers. It’s also led to positive reactions from the fans who had been unsatisfied with his production.

On Friday, the power forward made 14 of 25 shots and went 3-for-7 from the three-point line. He also made all six of his foul shots. Twenty-three of his points came in the first half. The Kings double-teamed him after intermission, leading to three third-quarter turnovers. While he scored five points on 2-for-3 shooting in that quarter, Harris rebounded and added nine points in the fourth quarter.

The sellout crowd chanted “To-bi … To-bi … To-bi” with a little less than four minutes remaining. With 37 points, they were encouraging him to hit a three-pointer to reach 40. Harris missed a late three-point attempt but exited the game to a standing ovation with 3 minutes, 13 seconds to play.

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“It was fun hearing the crowd chant,” he said. “It was a lot of fun. I wish it was a closer game because then I probably would’ve got it. Like once it was forced? The lesson of the story is don’t force it. Just let it flow because then I was like ‘I ain’t forcing for a 40′. I wanted it! But it didn’t happen and at that point, I was like OK.”

Harris also shined on defense. The Kings shot only 1-for-10 with three turnovers when he was the primary on-ball defender. Harris guarded Sacramento center Domantas Sabonis in the first half, holding to All-Star to two points on 1-for-2 shooting.

“I thought that set the tone for myself, personally,” Harris said. “Defending, taking on the challenge, and then early on in the game, that fueled a lot of energy towards the offensive end for us. Getting stops, getting out in transition, creating some easier looks, and that was the game plan at shootaround. It paid off tonight.”

The Sixers forward struggled through 18.2% three-point shooting in the previous four games. He even shook his head with disappointment after missing a late three-pointer that would have put the game away in the Sixers’ Wednesday loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

But he couldn’t miss against the Kings. Batum scored tied a season high with 14 points on 5-for-5 shooting while making four three-pointers. That helped the Sixers improve to 4-1 when he makes at least three three-pointers. The Sixers are also 4-0 when he scores at least 10 points.

He’s shooting 47.8% on three-pointers as a Sixer, the highest percentage of his career.

The Sixers have usually struggled this season when Embiid doesn’t play. They took a 2-7 record in games without him into Friday’s contest. While Harris filled the scoring void, Reed and Bamba replaced Embiid’s rim protection.

Reed, who got the start, had three blocks and two steals to go with eight points and seven rebounds. Meanwhile, Bamba had a game-high four blocks to go with 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting — including 2-for-2 shooting on three-pointers.

This was Bamba’s second consecutive solid performance. He had five points, three blocks and a steal in 14:21 off the bench on Wednesday.

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“It was excellent,” Harris said of the center’s performance. “I think their energy, their effort. I think Paul just did a great job of keeping the game simple. Going out there and fueling us with his energy. The way that both of them were able to protect the rim was big for us and not to say that’s been missing.

“But with Joel out, that effort has to be brought to a higher level every single night and they stepped up for the challenge tonight and we were able to really fuel off of that. Them protecting the rim time and time again led to us getting out in transition so that was huge.”