Sixers hold off Toronto Raptors, 117-110, as their postseason rotation could be materializing

One would assume the 76ers’ playoff rotation has been decided.

The team had its full complement of players available Wednesday night, and went with a telling 10-man rotation. Then Tobias Harris missed Friday’s 117-110 victory over the Toronto Raptors at the Wells Fargo Center with a non-COVID illness. That led to sixth-man De’Anthony Melton starting in Harris’ place, and Shake Milton being added to the rotation.

Meanwhile, Georges Niang, Jalen McDaniels, Paul Reed, and Danuel House Jr. once again saw action off the bench.

That foursome and Melton will be the reserves included in the postseason rotation, at least early on, right?

Coach Doc Rivers said you can’t assume anything by who was in the rotation the past two games.

“We have plenty of time,” he said. “It may change in the playoffs, you know? There’s no rule that when you get into the playoffs with nine guys, you can’t change that, you know, so that’s always in flux.”

The Sixers can only hope that whoever plays can play through four quarters better than they did against the Raptors (38-39) on Friday night.

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Philly’s 76.9% shooting in the first half was its best shooting performance for any half in franchise history. The Sixers, who shot 56.2% for the game, had a commanding 24-point lead before intermission. The Raptors pulled within two points (103-101) on Fred VanVleet’s three-pointer with 5 minutes, 50 remaining.

Rivers wasn’t disappointed with his team’s inability to maintain its first-half effort. The Sixers shot 32.4% after intermission. They also committed 12 of their 18 turnovers over the final 24 minutes.

“I’m happy we won the game,” he said. “We were shooting 79%. What’s the odds? If you were going to Vegas, what would be the odds that we shoot 79% in the second half? You know what I’m saying? We got the same shots. They didn’t go in.

“We were 3-for-17 [from three-point range after intermission]. Sixteen of them were wide open threes. It’s a make-or-miss game. In that way, I was not upset at all.”

James Harden’s performance was indicative of the Sixers’ night.

The 10-time All-Star had 23 points, 11 assists, and three rebounds. If there was a blemish, it was his six turnovers. Seventeen of his points came in the first half where he was the hottest player on the floor, making 7 of 9 shots, including all three of his three-pointers.

But after intermission, Harden cooled off a bit, scoring five points on 2-of-5 shooting, while missing all three of his threes.

Joel Embiid finished with a team-high 25 points, a game-high 12 rebounds, and one block. The MVP candidate did, however, have five turnovers. Tyrese Maxey (13 points), Melton (13 points), and Reed (11 points, six rebounds) were the Sixers’ other double-digit scores.

The Sixers (51-26) led, 34-17, in bench points.

“Paul Reed was phenomenal,” Rivers said. “Rolling, James is trusting him more in the roll. Jalen, again, just the energy, and what he’s doing all over the floor. Danuel House was huge as well in that stretch.

“I thought the bench in the first half won the game in a lot of ways for us. That’s who stretched the lead.”

In regards to stating he could change the rotation in the playoffs, Rivers said that’s because rotations always change in the playoffs.

“Based on two things,” Rivers said. “Based on matchups and based on performance.”

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While he had somewhat inconsistent halves, Harden looked nothing like a player who had been hampered with left Achilles soreness.

“I feel good,” Harden said.

And that could be a good thing for the Sixers as they brace for the playoffs.

That’s because he wasn’t himself in the previous three games, shooting a combined 10-for-43 (23.3%), making just 2 of 18 three-pointers while dealing with the ailing Achilles. He scored 10.3 points in those games, way below his season average of 21.3 points.

Harden made just 4 of 15 shots on the road against the Charlotte Hornets on March 17. He missed the next night’s game at the Indiana Pacers. Then Harden made just 2 of 14 shots vs. Chicago on March 20 . He sat out the next four games, but the rest didn’t seem to improve his shooting. Harden shot 4-for-14 in Wednesday’s home win over the Dallas Mavericks.

It was obvious Harden’s Achilles was still hampering him. And Embiid has been slowed by a right calf injury.

“I think it’s been managed, but it’s always a concern, honestly,” Rivers said. “You want him to be healthy. Those are things — calves and Achilles — those are things that pop up during the year and you just hope they go away. That’s why we’ve managed them so well over the past couple of weeks. Giving them rest, even during practice, not having them on the floor a lot. We’re doing everything we can.”

Rivers said he expects Harden to play over the final stretch of the regular season.

“Yeah, but that could change, honestly,” he said. “Right now, you look at our sheet, he’s clean as far as playing games, but we’ll see how this week and next week goes and we’ll go from there.”

Asked what he can do to manage the Achilles for the playoffs, Harden responded “I feel good.”

The Sixers will travel to Milwaukee on Saturday for Sunday night’s game against the Bucks at Fiserv Forum. The Bucks (55-22) are in first place in the East, four games ahead of the Sixers with five games remaining. Philly has won this season’s last two meetings after dropping the second game of the season to the Bucks. A victory Sunday would enable the Sixers to clinch the season series.