Saturday, February 26, 2022 – 17:44 WIB
VIVA – James Harden finally made his debut with the Philadelphia 76ers and put on a dominant performance to lead his team to crush the Minnesota Timberwolves 133-102 in a series of NBA follow-up games at Target Center, Minneapolis, Friday local time (Saturday WIB).
Harden, who arrived from the Brooklyn Nets by barter on a February 10 deal, marked his debut with 27 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds to help the Sixers win their first game after the All-Star break.
Harden’s new tandem, Joel Embiid, appeared no less dominant, scoring 34 points and securing 10 rebounds to continue the positive trend of the Sixers who won three consecutive away wins.
Tyres Maxey also added 28 points and Matisse Thybulle contributed 11 points to strengthen the Sixers’ position in third in the Eastern Conference standings with a 36-23 win-lose record.
The winner of this season’s tripoin contest, Karl-Anthony Towns, became the main scoring machine for the hosts with 25 points followed by 21 points from D’Angelo Russell and 15 points from Anthony Edwards, but the Timberwolves had to be willing to suffer a fourth defeat in the last seven games.
The Sixers certainly hope Harden’s luck returns when they continue their away tour to Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks on Sunday (27/2) local time.
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves will start playing again next week with a visit to the Cleveland Cavaliers headquarters on Monday (28/2).
