Sixers vs Blazers takeaways: James Harden’s imprint; Matisse Thybulle’s defense; woes vs. the trap

PORTLAND, Ore. — James Harden is making teammates better.

Matisse Thybulle is still one of the league’s elite defenders. And the 76ers still need to improve on closing out games.

These three things stood out during Thursday’s 105-95 over the Portland Trail Blazers at the Moda Center.

As has been the case for over a month, Harden’s main focus at the beginning of the game was getting teammates great shot opportunities.

That led to the point guard finishing with six assists, two points, and just one shot attempt – a miss - while playing 8 minutes, 43 seconds in the first quarter. Harden finished the game with 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting along with a game-high 14 assists and 10 rebounds. It was his fourth triple-double of the season.

» READ MORE: Blazers’ shooting fizzles as Sixers post 105-95 win

“It’s just take what the game gives me,” Harden said of his first quarter. “The game was giving me playmaking.”

Tyrese Maxey wasn’t surprised by Harden’s conscious effort of distributing the ball instead of searching for shots.

Since Harden was a three-time scoring champion, Maxey feels that Harden can score whenever he wants.

“So because he’s able to help Joel [Embiid] so much; Joel get some very, very easy buckets because of the attention that James still draws because he can do that,” Maxey said. “So James still knows that he can get everybody. Then he can get himself going when we get in trouble if they go on a run.

“He seems to always hit a big stepback, always gets an iso and goes to the rim and get fouled and something like that.”

Harden’s game has matured from the days of being the scoring champion and 2018 MVP as a Houston Rocket. Back then, he was an elite scorer with passing ability. These days, Harden is a solid point guard with an ability to score when needed.

“It’s crazy, just because I saw it when I was at home watching him when he was in Houston when he was going for 50 a night,” Maxey said. “Now, I’m on the court with him while he’s doing like 20 and 15 and 10 boards.

“He’s coaching everybody, putting guys in the spots. Even defensively, he’s doing that as well.”

The Sixers will tell you to have a player like that is a blessing. It’s something they’re not taking for granted.

It’s easy to forget that Thybulle is one of the league’s elite defenders. It’s not that his skills have diminished. The Sixers just don’t play him as frequently.

But when he does get extended minutes, we’re reminded that he’s a two-time second-team All-Defensive performer.

Thybulle was a pain-in-the-you-know-what for Portland All-Star guard Dame Lillard and everyone else he guarded.

He finished with two steals and two blocks in 16:55 off the bench. Lillard had a tough time against his length and athleticism. Thybulle locked Lillard down, made him turn the ball over and totally took him out of his game.

“I’m just doing what I can,” Thybulle said. “I’m trying to be up for the challenge, trying to be up for the task. I know Dame well. So it’s always nice to get like that competitive mix-in amongst friends. So yeah, it was a good game.”

The Sixers had a commanding 26-point lead with 5:48 left in the third quarter. However, the Blazers pulled to within seven points with 3:34 seconds remaining in the game thanks in large part to the Sixers’ inability to handle their trap.

Coach Doc Rivers said the Sixers handled Portland’s trap “poorly.”

“I didn’t think the trapping was that hard,” Rivers said. “I thought our spacing was horrendous, you know? And we’re great at spacing most nights and tonight we kept leaving two guys on the other side. I’m hoarse from yelling just to get one guy to cut through and we basically didn’t do it.”

Rivers said the problem is easy to fix. They know where the trapping players are coming from on most nights. And he said the Sixers will take advantage of that. He thinks they just need to execute better.

“You get these sometimes and they’re hard,” he said. “In the NBA, leads shrink quickly and then you get complacent. I thought we did a little bit of that.”

» READ MORE: After disappointing start, Sixers are now the NBA’s hottest team

Best performance: This goes to Embiid. The Sixers center finished with game highs of 32 points and three blocks to go with nine rebounds, two assists and a steal. Embiid made all seven of his free throws.

Worst performance: I had to give this to Sheadon Sharpe. The Portland reserve missed five of six shots and was a minus-7 in 4:55 of action.

Best defensive performance: Thybulle gets this.

Worst statistic: The Blazers shot shot 31% in the first half, including make just 1 of 14 three-pointers.

Best statistic: Lillard made all 10 of his foul shots.