Philadelphia 76ers spoil James Harden’s revenge and sail past Los Angeles Clippers 121-107

The Philadelphia 76ers pulled off an upset over the Los Angeles Clippers 121-107 as Philadelphia improves to 39-32 on the season and takes back control of the 7th seed with a one-game edge over the Miami Heat.

The 76ers were without Robert Covington (knee), Joel Embiid (knee), Kai Jones (hamstring), Kyle Lowry (rest), and De’Anthony Melton (back).

P.J. Tucker (calf) and Russell Westbrook (hand) were sidelined for the Clippers.

76ers offensive contributors

Philadelphia got key contributions from across the board as Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, and Cam Payne each scored 20+ points and Kelly Oubre Jr. alongside Paul Reed reached double-digits in a game that relied so heavily on pace, ball movement, and perimeter.

Tobias Harris bounced back from a rough shooting night against the Lakers in a huge way, scoring 24 points on 11-19 shooting from the field and 2-4 perimeter shooting. Harris exploded for 19 points in the 1st half where he made quick decisions with the ball and confidently pulled the trigger. Harris found success in one-on-one coverage where he beat his primary defender off the dribble, nailed elbow shots and burst to the rim. Harris then struggled in the 2nd half where faced constant double teams and as a result, struggled to kick it out and over-dribbled into traffic.

Tyrese Maxey took just 3 shots in the 1st half, but for good reason, as the 76ers were led by Harris’ aggressiveness and beautifully moving the ball, finding the weak-side shooter in Oubre, Hield, and Bamba, and attacking in transition off defensive stops. Maxey then took over in the 4th quarter when Philadelphia truly needed it. 

Maxey exploded to the rim off the point-of-attack, torching the likes of Paul George and James Harden and drilling pull-up threes. Maxey was phenomenal off the pick-and-roll as well, creating offense for Hield and Reed and KJ Martin thrived off Maxey’s gravity with connective passing off the short-roll.

Harden watching Maxey take over the 4th quarter pic.twitter.com/EzwQh0CHPe

— Jacob Moreno (@Jacobmorenonba) March 24, 2024

Cam Payne continues to serve as a reliable microwave scorer off the bench as he recorded 23 points on 8-15 field shooting and 5-10 shooting from beyond the arc. Payne’s ability to come off ball screens, drill top-of-the-key threes over dropped defenders and drill spot-up threes from anywhere along the perimeter has been such a luxury for the 76ers. Payne has truly done it all as a ball-handler, putting it on the floor off the pick-and-roll and facilitating, allowing Maxey to thrive off the ball.

The 76ers went on a vital 18-2 run midway into the 4th quarter that ballooned their lead to 21 points. Philadelphia shot 53.3% from the field and 48.6% from three as a collective in a much-needed three-point onslaught. 

76ers ruin James Harden’s revenge

In his revenge game, James Harden recorded a double-double of 12 points and 14 assists on 5-13 shooting from the field. Harden came out aggressive early on, maneuvering through Maxey and company off dribble drives and creating offense off the pick-and-roll. Kawhi Leonard (20 points) and Paul George (18 points) thrived off Harden’s rim gravity and found a rhythm in the 3rd quarter where they temporarily tied the game.

Without Russell Westbrook, the Clippers severely lacked a ball-handler in the non-Harden minutes. The offense became very stagnant as George didn’t get nearly enough off-ball screens and Kawhi Leonard isolations could only get the Clippers so far. Los Angeles had offensive spurts where they looked unstoppable and other stints where they played at a disconnected snail’s pace.

James Harden left the Clippers locker room before Ty Lue even began his postgame press conference, when locker room wasn’t yet open to media.

— Gina Mizell (@ginamizell) March 24, 2024

The 76ers look to even up their record on this West Coast road trip on Monday against the Sacramento Kings at 10:00 p.m. EST.

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