Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris come to undermanned Sixers’ rescue in Houston

HOUSTON – Friday’s game between the 76ers and Houston Rockets showed the importance of roster depth.

The Sixers were without reigning MVP Joel Embiid for the third consecutive game. Nico Batum and KJ Martin were also sidelined. The Rockets competed without Jabari Smith, Victor Oladipo and Dillon Brooks.

The Sixers’ healthy players defeated the Rockets available players, 131-127, at the Toyota Center.

Philly was fortunate that Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris were available. Maxey, who finished with a game-high 42 points, was in attack mode all game, scoring 27 of his points in the first half. He shot 13 of 26 from the field, to go with four rebounds and three assists.

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Harris added 22 points on 10-for-18 shooting. He also had seven assists, four rebounds and three blocks.

Marcus Morris Sr. was fouled while draining a three-pointer with 31.6 seconds left. He made the foul shot for the four-point play to give the Sixers a 127-122 cushion.

After Jalen Green hit a three-pointer to close the gap, De’Anthony Melton split a pair of foul shots to make it 128-125 with 24.2 left. Green responded with another layup before Melton was fouled again with 11.8 left.

This time, he made both free throws to give the Sixers a 130-127 lead before Houston called a timeout. But after Jock Landale missed a layup, Morris grabbed to defensive rebound. He split a pair of foul shots as the Sixers (22-9) escaped with the four-point victory.

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Morris finished with 14 points off the bench.

“It’s not just this year, too,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said of undermanned games. “It’s been a few years now. I think you would kind of say going into a season, you needed a solid eight or nine guys. Now, I say you need 12 or 13 because you are going to have to move guys around a lot more.”

Embiid missed the game with a sprained right ankle. This was the fifth game Batum missed with a right hamstring strain. Martin was ruled out an hour before the game with an illness.

Kelly Oubre Jr., Harris, Paul Reed, Melton, and Maxey made up the starting lineup for the third consecutive game. Batum is expected to return Saturday against the Chicago Bulls. Martin’s availability is yet to be determined.

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Embiid will remain in the Philadelphia area.

“He’s still a little sore,” Nurse said. “But he was on the court again today. Just trying to make sure that he’s a little bit better before we bring him back.

“He won’t make the trip now. But we hope that he’ll be ready for the next one.”

The Sixers’ next game after the road trip is Tuesday vs. the Bulls at the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers will look to avenge a 108-104 home loss Dec. 18 to the Bulls.

In that game, Embiid had game highs of 40 points and 14 rebounds but he misfired on a nine-foot jumper with 6 seconds left and the Sixers down by two. It was the first of three straight victories for the Bulls (14-19) before they lost two of their last three games.

Like in the teams’ earlier matchup, Zach LaVine (inflamed right foot), Torrey Craig (right plantar fascia sprain), and Lonzo Ball (left heel surgery) will all miss Saturday’s game. However, Onuralp Bitim (nasal fracture) and Nikola Vučević (left adductor strain) are added to the list of sidelined players. Patrick Williams (right ankle sprain) is probable.