Sixers vs. Clippers takeaways: Team’s astounding trend, Tobias Harris’ defense, Joel Embiid’s class

LOS ANGELES — The 76ers are close to unbeatable when heading into fourth quarters with a lead.

Tobias Harris is now a solid two-way player. And Joel Embiid is the NBA’s most dominant center.

These three things stood out during Tuesday’s 120-110 over the Los Angeles Clippers at the Crypto.com Arena.

Tyrese Maxey’s pair of foul shots with 2.5 seconds left in the third quarter gave the Sixers a 90-89 cushion. The Clipper responded by turning the ball over on their final two possessions of the quarter. At that point, the Sixers (28-16) had to feel invincible due to their success rate when leading at that point.

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And they basically were invincible, extending their lead to 19 points with 2 minutes, 51 seconds remaining.

The blowout victory improved the Sixers to a league second-best 23-1 when leading after three quarters. That gives them a .958 winning percentage in those situations.

The Sixers stepped up their defense in the fourth quarter, holding Kawhi Leonard to zero points on 0-for-3 shooting. That came after the All-Star had 27 points on 10-for-17 shooting through three quarters.

Harris had his share of defensive struggles when the Sixers acquired him in a trade from the Clippers on Feb. 6, 2019. You wouldn’t have known that Tuesday night.

The power forward finished with a career- and season-high tying five steals against his former team. Harris recorded two of those steals in the first quarter. The other three came in the second quarter.

“He was huge,” coach Doc Rivers said. “Offensively he was great, but I thought Tobias, defensively, the last two games, has given us a huge lift. We start with Tuck [PJ Tucker] on Kawhi; and then you put Tobias on Kawhi and Paul George and asking him to score. He’s doing a lot of stuff for us.”

Harris is averaging 1.1 steals per game. He has 602 career steals, with 211 coming as a Sixer.

“Just being about to go out there and guard some of the best guys in the league,” Harris said of what changed since his time as a Clipper. “That took a lot of time to develop and get better at on that side of the floor.”

Embiid was the most dominant player on the floor, finishing with 41 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

When it comes to scoring explosions, he’s in a class of his own when it comes to centers. This marked his 15th game of the season with at least 35 points. Centers not named Embiid have combined for 10 such games.

This was also his eighth 40-point game of the season, tied for most the Eastern Conference and second in the league.

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Embiid did most of his damage in the first half, scoring 26 points on 9-for-14 shooting. This marked his seventh half this season with at least 25 points. That’s tied for the most in the league.

“Just trying to start off strong because what I’ve come to find out is that my energy kind of drives the whole team,” he said of taking over early. “So I know if I have a good start or if I’m being aggressive offensively and defensively my teammates are going to pick up no matter if I make shots or not, so just trying to be aggressive, not just for me, but for my whole team.”

Best performance: This goes to Embiid even on a night he had a team-high five turnovers. That was the only negative thing he did against the Clippers.

Worst performance: I had to give this to Robert Covington. The former Sixer had three foul and two turnovers in seven minutes. The forward also missed both of his shots to finish with zero points.

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Best defensive performance: Harris gets this one while being a solid two-way player.

Worst statistic: I had to give this to the Clippers’ first-quarter shooting from beyond the three-point land. They made just 2 of 10 from that distance.

Best statistic: This goes to Tyrese Maxey being a game-best plus-23.

Best of the Best: Tuesday’s victory moved the Sixers into sole possession of third place in the Eastern Conference standings.They’re a ½-game behind the second-place Milwaukee Bucks.