PHILADELPHIA (AP) 鈥� Joel Embiid scored 44 points, James Harden had a career-high 21 assists in a triple-double and the Philadelphia 76ers overcame a 20-point first-half deficit to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 119-114 on Friday night.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 big-time for us. That just shows that we stayed together, we trust each other and we know what we have to do,鈥� Embiid said about the comeback. 鈥淲e started off the game soft, especially defensively, and as soon as we turned it up it changed the whole game.鈥�
Harden had 20 points and 11 rebounds to help Philadelphia sweep a seven-game homestand and improve to 19-12. Harden tied Wilt Chamberlain and Maurice Cheeks for the franchise game assist record.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 some great company. Mo Cheeks was one of my coaches (in Oklahoma City), and then Wilt, I feel like he has every record,鈥� Harden said. 鈥淪o just being in the conversation with some of the best basketball players to ever touch a basketball is always a blessing.鈥�
Harden鈥檚 performance, approach to the game and evolving chemistry with Embiid drew praise from the coach Doc Rivers.
鈥淭his is a generational scorer that has taken and decided to be a point guard, who still scores, but to be a point guard for this team,鈥� Rivers said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 hard to do. A lot of people, most people, can鈥檛 do that, or will not do it is a better way of saying it. The fact that he is willingly doing it, running the team, organizing us, is huge for us.鈥�
Rivers took a timeout after Nicolas Batum鈥檚 3-pointer gave the Clippers a 108-107 lead with four minutes left. The 76ers then had a 10-0 run.
Kawhi Leonard had 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting for Los Angeles. Paul George added 22 points and Norman Powell had 21. The 76ers limited George to five points in the second half, led by a standout performance from De鈥橝nthony Melton.
鈥淲e knew how good of an offensive team they were,鈥� Harden said. 鈥淭hey caught us in that first half. The second half we picked up our defensive intensity, got out in transition and it made the game a lot easier for us.鈥�
TIP-INS
Clippers: John Wall sat out because of a sprained right ankle.
76ers: Harden鈥檚 previous career high for assists was 17, accomplished 10 times. Before the game, Rivers said Tyrese Maxey is getting close to returning from a fracture in his left foot that has kept him out since Nov. 18.
UP NEXT
Clippers: At Detroit on Monday night.
76ers: At New York on Sunday.
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The Associated Press
