Sixers vs. Kings takeaways: Joel Embiid’s unselfish play, Tobias Harris’ versatility and Matisse Thybulle’s confidence

Joel Embiid had an unselfish 31-point effort.

Tobias Harris showed he’s more versatile than his days as a Los Angeles Clipper. And Matisse Thybulle displayed a confidence and comfort level that wasn’t there last season.

Below is my look at three things that stood out during Tuesday’s 123-103 victory over the Sacramento Kings at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Sixers center showed why he’s the most dominant big man, scoring at least 30 points for the fifth straight game. And he dominated from the start, scoring 16 points in the first quarter against the Kings (14-12).

But that was far from the most impressive thing Embiid did in leading the Sixers (15-12) to their third straight victory.

Embiid could have scored much more than 31 points. He had 29 points after his 17-foot pull-up jumper with 6 minutes, 29 seconds left in the third quarter.

At that point, Embiid turned his focus to getting his teammates involved.

He directed teammates where they needed to be on the court and ran plays to create scoring opportunities for others. At one point, he even made sure teammates swung the ball so Georges Niang could get a wide open corner three-pointer.

Embiid only attempted one shot - and made that layup with 6:37 left - the rest of the way en route to shooting 10-for-16.

“It’s funny because coach [Doc Rivers] on the bench was telling me to stay aggressive,” said Embiid, who averages a league-best 33.3 points. “I’m like, ‘We are playing well. The ball is moving. You know I got to get my teammate involved.’

“For me, if I’m open, I’m going to try to go score. But in some situations, you want to get my guys involved. You want to be able to move the ball side to side.”

But Embiid also looked at it as a learning experience for him. He wants to make sure the ball is always moving. He knows that’s his job and how the Sixers are going to need to play.

“That’s good for us,” Embiid said.

Harris was known for being a scorer when the Sixers acquired him in a trade from the Clippers on Feb. 6, 2019. That knock on him at that time was he couldn’t do much else.

Well, folks are not saying that any longer.

The power forward is one of the most well-rounded Sixers. And his versatility was on full display Tuesday.

Harris had 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. He and Thybulle combined to do a solid job of taking turns guarding De’Aaron Fox. The Kings point guard had 13 points on 5-for-15 shooting, including missing 6 of 7 three-point attempts. He also had more turnovers (three) and assists (one).

» READ MORE: How dominant was Joel Embiid’s 53-point performance? His Sixers teammates weigh in.

“It’s just an expansion of me evaluating the game and kind of reading how teams guard myself personally,” Harris said of his newfound versatility. “I always had this approach of score, score, score. Now, just allow myself in certain positions, to be a little more pass first and allow that to open up the whole game for me. It’s just patience.”

But perhaps his biggest area of improvement has been on the defensive end, averaging a career-best 1.3 steals and

“He’s bought in,” Embiid said. “He’s locked in, offensively and defensively. He’s not forcing. He’s playing basketball the right way. Being a great shooter and making plays for everybody else.

“I think that’s the biggest takeaway from early in my career to now.”

Thybulle finished with a season-high 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting, including making 3 of 4 three-pointers while starting in place of De’Anthony Melton (back tightness) at shooting guard.

The big thing for Thybulle was he didn’t hesitate on any of his attempts and played in the flow of the offense. That’s something he didn’t do last season.

» READ MORE: Dominant scoring nights are becoming routine for Sixers’ Joel Embiid

“I think it helps when your teammates believe in you to make plays and make shots,” Thybulle said. “When it feels like they’re looking for you and setting you up, it makes making the shot that much easier.

“You catch it in flow, you catch it with confidence, and the rest kind of takes care of itself.”

The Sixers have reason to be confident in Thybulle.

They are 3-1, with three straight victories, in games he has started this season.

Best performance: James Harden gets this after producing his third straight double-double. The Sixers point guard finished with 21 points, a game-high 15 assists, seven rebounds and a season-high five steals.

Worst performance: Fox gets this for one of his worst shooting performances of the season.

Best of the best: This was a quality win for the Sixers against the solid opponent. The victory enabled them to win three straight games for the fourth time this season. It also kept them in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings.