Inside Sixers: Joel Embiid’s dagger, James Harden’s dazzling post-shootaround session and more

Joel Embiid pulled his jersey out of his shorts, pumped his arm and hollered, celebrating his game-winning turnaround fadeaway jumper to clinch another improbable 76ers victory.

His team trailed the Portland Trail Blazers by as many as 21 points Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center, and led solely for the 1.5 seconds that mattered. Inside the victorious postgame locker room, coach Doc Rivers yelled “Defensive Maxey!” as a crowd surrounded Tyrese Maxey, the Sixers’ third-year guard, a nod to his play on that end of the court in crunch time. The coach also commended James Harden’s “hell of a read” before Embiid’s make when, after the inbound pass, the savvy Harden decided not to move toward Embiid for a fake dribble-handoff and instead cut to provide Embiid with room to operate.

Then, Embiid’s shot — which occurred after Rivers called timeout to set up the final play when the organic possession turned clunky — became another example of his development while playing from the nail and elbow. Unlike previous seasons, when the Sixers likely would have attempted to get Embiid the ball in the post, the big man saw a court that was “wide-open” before spinning and firing.

“Had enough space to really get wherever I wanted,” Embiid said from his locker, feet in the ice bucket. " … That’s a perfect spot, honestly.”

The Sixers (44-22) have won four games in a row and 10 out of their past 13, beginning a challenging stretch run to the regular season in impressive fashion. They enter Saturday 1½ games behind the Boston Celtics for second place in the Eastern Conference standings.

Here are some behind-the-scenes moments that peppered the week:

On Monday morning inside Indianapolis’ Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Harden went one-on-one with skill development coach Jason Love. This is routine, as Harden typically is the last Sixer on the floor at road shootarounds.

Yet this particular session was a clinic. Harden splashed multiple deep, contested three-pointers with a flick of the wrist and off one foot.

“He was feelin’ good today,” Love said of Harden as he walked off the floor.

That wild shot-making did not specifically carry over to that night’s defense-optional victory over the Pacers, when Harden went 3-of-11 from the floor. But the dazzling post-shootaround work was a precursor to a historic performance. Harden’s 20 assists made him the first player in Sixers history to record that total in at least two games in a single season.

When Maxey overheard that factoid while sitting next to Harden in the postgame locker room, he let out a playfully exacerbated “Arghhh. … He’s good. He’s really, really good.”

“Haterrr,” Harden responded.

The exchange was all in good fun, of course. A few seconds later, they shook hands in congratulatory fashion. Harden entered Saturday continuing to lead the NBA in assists, with 10.8 per game.

The visitors’ locker room inside Minneapolis’ Target Center was mostly chipper late Tuesday, with the Sixers eager to return to Philly after capping a five-game road trip with a dominant win over the Timberwolves.

But reserve center Paul Reed spent additional time decompressing at his locker, clearly disappointed in his 1-for-7 shooting performance.

Who gave him a pep talk? Maxey.

“Bro, I’ve been there,” Maxey said. Then, he encouraged teammate De’Anthony Melton to “tell P. Reed to cheer up, like we didn’t just win by 20.”

» READ MORE: After 4-1 road trip, Sixers realize they have ‘a chance’ at winning an NBA title

Reed and Maxey were part of the Sixers’ 2020 draft class and have remained close throughout their professional journeys. They have bonded over their similarly relentless work ethics and in carving out rotation roles as young players on a win-now team.

“It’s big,” Reed said of Maxey’s encouragement. “It just shows that he cares. … I pick him up when he’s down. He picks me up when I’m down. It’s kind of like a brotherhood.”

When asked about Timberwolves young All-Star Anthony Edwards, Rivers could draw on a random personal encounter.

About two months ago, Rivers said, he called son, Minnesota guard Austin Rivers, following a game. Doc assumed Austin was already on the team bus, but he still was in the locker room.

Instead of talking to his father, Austin handed the phone to Edwards.

“So I’m sitting on the phone talking to Anthony Edwards,” Rivers recalled. “I didn’t even know why. … We talked for like five minutes [and said], ‘Hey, I’m a big fan, da, da, da.’ And then I said, ‘Hey, can you put Austin back on the phone?’

“And he said, ‘Oh, he went in the shower.’ And I’m like, ‘Why did this dude give this guy the phone and get in the shower?’”