Sixers-Hornets takeaways: Queen City loves Joel Embiid; James Harden among all-time great assist makers

CHARLOTTE — Joel Embiid receives a lot of love in the Queen City.

James Harden keeps solidifying his spot as one of the NBA’s all-time greats. Tobias Harris is over his shooting slump.

These three things were obvious in the Sixers’ 121-82 drubbing of the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center.

It was Philly South inside the Hornets’ arena. Sixers fans arrived early, many of them wearing Embiid No. 21 jerseys. Once the game began, it was obvious that the Sixers (47-22) had more fans than Charlotte (22-50) in the sellout crowd of 19,096.

Embiid, the six-time All-Star, received a huge applause when he joined his teammates on the court for pregame warmups.

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There also were loud cheers and “MVP” chants after his big plays. And they cheered a lot, considering he had game highs of 38 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks in 29 minutes, 10 seconds. With a sizable lead, Embiid sat out the fourth quarter.

This marked the second time Embiid recored at least 35 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists in fewer than 30 minutes played. He’s the only player since the NBA-ABA merger to have multiple such games.

“Even during the introductions, I was like, ‘It’s crazy,’” he said of the cheers. “Even for the home team, it was nothing close to it. It’s just Philly fans. We have a few cities like that off the top of my head: Washington, Orlando, here. And they always show up anywhere.

“It felt like a home game, even the MVP chants and cheering. It was crazy.”

One of the loudest cheers for Embiid came when he was subbed out of the game for good with 1:36 remaining in the third quarter. Several fans gave him a standing ovation. With the Sixers up 25 points, they seemed to sense that he wouldn’t return.

“It’s crazy,” Embiid said of the cheers. “I think that’s also one of the reasons why we played really well tonight.”

Sixers coach Doc Rivers also loved playing in front of a mostly Sixers crowd. He noted that fans travel well to see the Sixers play.

“You love your home crowd,” Rivers said. “But you love when you are on the road and you see, and the noise. When I was a player with certain teams, the Knicks for one, it’s awesome on the road when you see your fans show up.”

Rivers realizes that it takes a lot of effort for fans to see their teams play on the road. They have to get tickets and sometimes travel from out of town.

“So that’s cool,” he said.

Harden needed six assists to pass Hall of Famer Bob Cousy for 20th on the all-time regular-season assist list at 6,955. He passed him on a dish to Harris for a layup with 1:58 left in the second quarter.

The future Hall of Famer has 6,960 after finishing with 10 assists. Harden also had 11 points, 11 rebounds, and three steals.

On Feb. 23, he passed Hall of Famer and Sixers great Allen Iverson for 26th on the all-time scoring list. Harden recently passed Hall of Famer Ray Allen for 25th and has 24,605 career points.

“It’s going to be something to where you got some of the greatest basketball players whether it’s assists or scoring to ever touch a basketball,” Harden said. “So it’s a blessing and an honor to be in those conversations and continue to climb up those ladders.”

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Even though he was the league’s assist champion in 2017, Harden is more known for gathering points, having led the NBA in scoring three times.

“Playmaking is underrated,” said Harden, who’s this season’s NBA assist leader at 10.8 assists. “Hopefully, they’ll catch on eventually, but, I mean, just impacting the game. And scoring and playmaking is something that I have to do every single game.”

The Sixers forward snapped out of a four-game shooting slump with 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting, including making 3 of 5 three-pointers. He had averaged eight points on 29.7% shooting, including 20% from three in the previous four games.

“I was just taking advantage of the opportunities that were presented,” Harris said. “I was able to get some threes to fall early on. And our defense was fueling our offense tonight. That always helps getting out in transition and whatnot.”

He showed what he’s capable of doing when he’s more involved in the offense. A lot of his shooting woes are a result of a lack of involvement. Harris is at his best when the ball is moving and the Sixers have a balanced attack. He tends to struggle when the ball is stagnant, leading to him getting fewer touches.

Best performance: I guess Embiid keeps his award. That’s because the Sixers center won it once again for his two-way dominance.

Worst performance: I’m giving this to Nick Richards. The Hornets center had more fouls (four) than points (two) while being dominated by Embiid. Richards didn’t attempt a field goal in 13:13 and was a minus-18.

Best defensive performance: Embiid gets this. He had four blocks for the third consecutive game.

Worst statistic: This goes to Charlotte’s three-point shooting. They shot 14.3% from deep.

Best statistic: This goes to the Sixers’ points in the paint. They had a 64-36 advantage.

Best of the Best: This goes to go the all the Sixers fans in attendance. They arrived early and were loud and proud. If you closed eyes, you would have thought you were at the Wells Fargo Center.