Sixers vs. Warriors takeaways: Joel Embiid-James Harden partnership taking off; next-man-up mentality, energy on display

The Joel Embiid and James Harden partnership is starting to come together nicely.

The 76ers really do have a next-man-up mentality. And P.J. Tucker praises the team’s energy.

Below is my look at three things that stood out during Friday’s 118-106 victory over the Golden State Warriors at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Embiid and Harden pairing didn’t mix at the beginning of the season.

That’s because Harden was a ball-dominant player who has made a career of thriving in isolation plays. Meanwhile, Embiid was at his best when the Sixers played through him. As a result, he mostly was out of sync and had poor body language while playing alongside Harden at the start of the season.

Now, they rave about each other following games.

That’s because they’ve found a way to coexist during the Sixers’ four-game winning streak. And Friday was their last example.

Embiid had game highs of 34 points, 13 rebounds, and four steals along with four assists and two blocks. Harden finished with 27 points, a team-high nine assists, and five rebounds.

» READ MORE: Sixers tested but take a 118-106 victory over the depleted Golden State Warriors

The Sixers (16-12) were 2-5 in the first seven of the 11 games Harden and Embiid played together. Since then, the team has won four straight games by an average of 15.3 points.

Embiid, the league’s leading scorer at 33.3 points, has averaged 40.7 points and 10.3 rebounds in his previous three games. Harden averaged 22.7 points and 14.3 assists during that stretch.

“I don’t know the amount of games we’ve played together, but it’s not a lot,” Harden said. “So that’s just every single game where we are figuring each other out. I mean like me getting it going or him getting it going, our pick-and-roll. How teams are guarding us. It’s like a game-by-game scenario. We just keep building on that.

“It’s actually fun, going game-by-game.”

The Warriors (14-16) did a little more switching on defense, which the Sixers hadn’t seen. They know Monday’s opponent — the Toronto Raptors — will switch more than Golden State did.

“It’s a game-by-game scenario,” he said. “At the end of the season, we got a package of things we’ve seen, and this is how we attack different defenses.”

If they figure that out, the Sixers will be tough to beat.

Tobias Harris was a late scratch on Friday because of back pain.

The Sixers considered starting Danuel House Jr. in his place. But they ultimately decided against it since he missed the last three games with a lacerated left foot. So Matisse Thybulle started his second consecutive game.

But it really didn’t matter who started on this night for two reasons.

The first reason was the Warriors were a depleted squad missing All-Stars Steph Curry (partially dislocated left shoulder), Draymond Green (bruised right quadriceps), and Andrew Wiggins (strained right inner thigh) along with Andre Iguodala (left hip injury management).

» READ MORE: Sixers’ Montrezl Harrell says Tyrese Maxey remains upbeat despite staying sidelined with foot injury

The second reason is the Sixers are used to playing undermanned. This marked the 13th game Tyrese Maxey has missed after fracturing his left foot. And they’ve only played since game with their opening-day starting lineup of Harris, P.J. Tucker, Embiid, Maxey, and Harden. As a result, their rotation players have a knack for making the most of those opportunities. In fact, the Sixers are 4-1 in games Thybulle starts.

“It’s the next-man-up mentality,” Embiid said. “Obviously, we are missing our best player in Tyrese. Tobias has been great this year, doing his thing. He’s been efficient. Defensively, he’s been great. So when you’re missing those types of guys, it’s hard. But I think we have enough talent. Guys like Shake [Milton] and Matisse, they’ve been playing really well.

“You can’t forget about De’Anthony [Melton]. He’s been amazing. All of them, D-House, Georges [Niang, Furkan Korkmaz] all those guys have been doing their job.”

Tucker was asked about the team’s success during the four-game winning streak.

“I say the biggest thing is just our energy and effort, helping each other be successful,” said the forward, who played for the Miami Heat last season. “I always like saying, like [Miami coach Erik Spoelstra’s] favorite sayings, “enjoy somebody else’s success.” I feel like that like huge when it comes to the bench and everybody just having that good energy and that good comment towards everybody.”

» READ MORE: Sixers mailbag: Tobias Harris’ resurgence, Tyrese Maxey’s return, Matisse Thybulle’s minutes and much more

He feels like that picked up a lot in the victories over the Warriors, Sacramento Kings, Charlotte Hornets, and Los Angeles Lakers.

“Everybody’s spirit has gotten better as a team,” he said.

Best performance: Embiid gets this even on a night he committed seven turnovers. That’s because he made 11 of 23 shots and 10 of 12 free throws while being most dominant defensive player.

Best statistic: As I mentioned earlier, the Sixers improved to 4-1 in games Thybulle has started. After losing to the Washington Wizards (Nov. 2), they defeated the Atlanta Hawks (Nov.12), Utah Jazz (Nov. 13), Sacramento Kings (Tuesday) and Warriors.

Worst statistic: The loss dropped the Warriors to 2-14 on the road this season.