James Harden’s triple-double, balanced scoring lead undermanned Sixers to 123-111 rout of Pistons

DETROIT — No Joel Embiid, no P.J. Tucker, no problem for the 76ers.

The Sixers got back on track in a 123-111 victory over the rebuilding Detroit Pistons on Sunday afternoon at Little Caesars Arena.

Even without All-NBA center Embiid, the Sixers (24-15) were too deep for the Eastern Conference’s last-place Pistons (11-32).

» READ MORE: Doc Rivers says Joel Embiid is progressing with sore left foot; Sixers not concerned about injury

James Harden finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists for his second triple-double of the season and the 71st of his career in the regular season. Montrezl Harrell had a season-high 20 points, his third straight double-figure scoring performance. Paul Reed, the backup center behind Harrell, had 16 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. And Matisse Thybulle finished with five steals.

The Sixers scored 48 bench points and built a commanding 23-point cushion with 6 minutes, 34 seconds remaining.

“It was a good team performance,” coach Doc Rivers said. “Matisse with his steals ... Literally, every single guy that stepped on the floor, Danuel House comes in late, makes [one three], it tells you how deep you are. It really does and guys are buying into their roles.”

All that enabled the Sixers to pick up their 12th victory in the last 15 games. So it definitely was business as usual despite being without a key member of their starting lineup.

Embiid missed his third straight game with soreness in his left foot. Tucker also stayed back in the Philadelphia area with a sinus infection.

Harden bounced back from one of his worst shooting performances with a solid all-around game.

The Sixers point guard opened the contest by making his first three shots en route to shooting 7-for-14 for the game. But his rebounding and ability to get teammates involved stood out more.

Harden had 13 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists by halftime. He recorded his 10th assist 27 seconds into the second half. On that play, Harden dished to Tobias Harris for a layup.

The future Hall of Famer has scored at least 50 points 23 times during his career. He’s third all-time in three-pointers with 2,659, and a three-time scoring champion. And he’s fourth behind Russell Westbrook (197), LeBron James (105) and Nikola Jokić (86) in active career triple-doubles.

Where do triple-doubles rank in regards to accomplishments to him?

“I guess you are impacting the game in more than one way,” Harden said. “So I just try to find ways to put my footprint on the game. Whether it’s helping with a big rebound or be the facilitator, obviously that’s a good thing.

“You don’t never want to take it for granted. It means you are impacting the game in more than one way.”

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Harden also reached a scoring milestone during the game, surpassing 24,000 career points. He reached the milestone on a layup that gave the Sixers an 81-68 lead with 6:28 left in the third. Harden, who didn’t have to play in the fourth quarter, has 24,005 points, good for 27th on the all-time scoring list. He’s 363 points behind Hall of Famer and Sixers legend Allen Iverson, who’s 26th.

But this game was all about erasing memories of Friday’s subpar shooting performance against the Chicago Bulls. In that game, Harden had 17 points on 4-for-17 shooting.

“Last game was a little bit frustrating for me individually,” Harden said. “But I wanted to come out here and have a really good overall game. I felt as a team we did that.”

Harrell got his sixth start of the season with Embiid and Tucker both out. Tucker had started the previous two games as a small-ball center. But one has to wonder if the Sixers will decide to start him in that lineup moving forward.

The eighth-year veteran and Harden were solid in the two-man game. Harden’s passes enabled Harrell to get looks at the basket. And the 2020 sixth man of the year responded by shooting 8-for-11 from the field. He also sat out the fourth quarter.

“Trez has hands, and James knows it,” Rivers said of the duo’s excelling in the two-man game. “They were really helping with Trez on the pick-and-rolls, and had shooting behind. So it was great.”

Reed scored 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter. The third-year player also finished the game with a career-high eight offensive rebounds.

Sixers shooting guard Tyrese Maxey turned the game into a personal playground in the third quarter. That’s when he scored 11 of his team-high 23 points on 4-for-6 shooting. Maxey ended the quarter by scoring seven straight points.

The Sixers will complete their two-game series against the Pistons on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Center. After that, they’ll entertain the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday before embarking on a five-game West Coast road trip.