Sixers-Raptors takeaways: James Harden displays selfless leadership, Matisse Thybulle is far from same player

TORONTO — James Harden destroyed the myth about him only contributing as a ball-dominant player. Matisse Thybulle has matured as a player. And the 76ers can play defense.

Below is my look at three things that stood out during the Sixers’ 112-90 victory over the Toronto Raptors Friday night at Scotiabank Arena.

Tyrese Maxey’s career-high 44 points and Thybulle’s stellar performance while playing a season-high 21 minutes, 48 seconds garnered most of the attention.

However, Harden’s sacrificing his game for the betterment of the team was just as big.

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With Joel Embiid out with right knee recovery, Harden could have tried to go for 50 points against the Raptors (3-3). Instead, the three-time scoring champion willingly took a back seat to Maxey, who was rolling.

Harden, who’s averaging 22.6 points, finished with season-low 11 points on 4-for-9 shooting.

“Basically what he did was drag the whole team with him and pass the ball and let our guys attack,” coach Doc Rivers said of Harden. “That’s hard to do all game. And he did that.”

Thybulle showed exactly why the Sixers (2-4) made a mistake by only playing him an average of 1.5 minutes through the first five games. The swingman had season highs of six points, three rebounds, three assists, two blocks, one steal, and 21:48 of action.

But perhaps the most impressive part of his night was his willingness to keep shooting.

Thybulle opened up his time on the floor by passing up an open three-pointer. Then moments later, he had a three-pointer blocked. However, he buried his next two three-point attempts.

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Thybulle gained confidence to continue shooting by working on his offensive game this offseason.

“The old me would have folded in that moment,” he said. “Like you pass up, you get a little shook on your first attempt. On your second attempt, you get blocked. I think the old me folds and isn’t able to show up for those next two shots and make them.

“So I mean, honestly, to be able to sit here and be proud of myself feels really good. And to sit in the locker room and give myself my flowers and say, ‘Yeah, you did the work and you trusted it and were able to let it come through during the game.’ ”

Thybulle made 2 of 5 three-pointers.

The fourth-year swingman’s presence was also noticeable in what was the Sixers’ best defensive performance of the season. With Thybulle leading the charge, Philly played with more energy than in the first five games. Players were flying around and covering for each other.

The Sixers forced 17 Toronto turnovers, held the Raptors to 9-for-39 three-point shooting and piled up a lot of deflections.