The Philadelphia 76ers fell to the Houston Rockets 107-91 in their worst offensive game of the season.
The Rockets have now won seven games in a row while the Sixers are a mediocre 4-4 since the All-Star break.
Here are your takeaways from today's game...
3-point shooting
The 76ers are top-10 in the league this season in 3-point percentage at 36.2 percent.
They are middle of the pack in both 3-point attempts and 3-point makes, showing they aren't too reliant on the deep ball on any given night, but they handcuffed themselves in this one with their poor perimeter shooting.
Their 91 points in the game was their lowest scoring total this season after their opening night loss to the Boston Celtics. They shot 3-for-26 from beyond the arc (11.5 percent), which was the lowest percentage any team has shot this season!
Sharpshooter J.J. Redick could not find his mark, going 1-for-9 from deep. Tobias Harris hit two 3-pointers on four attempts while Mike Scott went 0-for-5 and Jimmy Butler, Amir Johnson Jonah Bolden and James Ennis went a combined 0-for-8.
The Rockets could have blown this one wide open but shot poorly from the 3-point land themselves, going 14-for-41. The difference – Houston had success on their 2-point tries for a 49.4 field goal percentage while the 76ers were struggling from all over the court at 36.8 percent.
It was without question Philly's worst offensive game of the season.
The James Harden effect
Even when you think you've done enough to stop him, you haven't.
Did the 76ers do a poor job defending Harden? I wouldn't say so. He was not easily getting to his spots or converting open stepbacks, yet he still found a way to fill up the box score.
Harden finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists on 11-for-22 shooting from the field and 3-for-11 from long range.
The Beard led the @HoustonRockets to a BIG dub against the Sixers! 🚀
— NBA TV (@NBATV) March 9, 2019
📊: 31 PTS | 10 REB | 7 AST#Rockets pic.twitter.com/tElFzlzUs5
He had an injury scare in the second quarter, heading to the locker room after awkwardly landing on his right wrist (which he already has taped up) but came back into the game a few possessions later.
Harden only had 11 points in the second half but was more passive, attempting eight shots the rest of the game after the injury.
While it seemed like he was unharmed by the fall, it is something to monitor in the coming days.
Streaking Rockets
With today's win, the Rockets have won seven consecutive games – their longest win streak of the season.
They have had some extremely impressive wins over that stretch, including road victories over the Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors – three of the best teams the NBA has to offer.
They have only lost one game post-All-Star break and are tied with the Detroit Pistons at 7-1 for the best record in the league since that mark.
Houston has come a long way from their 11-14 record through the first 25 games of the season as they stand in at 40-25, tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder for third place in the West.
No Embiid, big problem
Joel Embiid missed his eighth consecutive game with left knee soreness, yet to play since the All-Star break.
The 76ers are a pedestrian 4-4 in those eight games and are 5-7 this season in games without their star centre. While those results do not seem too terrible, the numbers tell a different story.
In layman's terms, the 76ers are 11 points better with Embiid on the floor.
Philly made all the right moves at the deadline to beef up this roster with talented players to make a serious playoff push, but without Embiid, this team becomes a lot less threatening.
Luckily for them, he's expected to return to action this upcoming weekend.
