After a perfect three-game road trip, the 76ers (16-6) are immediately faced with their next challenge: hosting Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers (11-9) on the second night of a back-to-back.
The Sixers will face the Blazers twice in their next four outings, Thursday at The Center, and exactly one week later in Portland.
Wednesday in Charlotte, the Sixers won their fourth straight. After a dominant 30-13 first quarter, the Sixers quelled the Hornets’ comeback efforts to take a 118-111 win.
“[The first quarter] was a glimpse of how good we could potentially be,” Danny Green (16 pts, 2 stl, 2 blk) said of the Sixers’ early defensive prowess in Wednesday’s meeting.
“We just went 3-0 on the road trip,” Doc Rivers said postgame. “We’re better than we played in the second half, but we couldn’t be much better in the first half.”
Eastern Conference Player of the Month Joel Embiid led the way with his 34-point, 11-rebound double-double, while Tobias Harris added 26 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
The Sixers remain undefeated (12-0) when all five starters play.
“We’re a starting five, but each guy needs the next guy,” Harris said of the team’s early success. “That’s the beauty of our starting five.”
Harris has been on a roll - scoring a season-high 27 points in the team’s win over the Pacers Sunday prior to his 26 points Wednesday. In his tenth NBA season, Harris is averaging 20.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.0 block, and 0.9 steals per game.
He’s also scoring at an impressive rate, shooting 51.4% from the field and 46.4% from long range.
Rivers credits Harris’ decisiveness on the offensive end, and has applauded tenacity on the defensive end.
“When [Tobias] is a decisive player, he’s really good,” Rivers said. “When he makes quick decisions, [is] decisive, goes downhill with the power that he has, he’s a force.”
With Wednesday’s win in tow, the Sixers remain atop the Eastern Conference standings, 2.5 games ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks (13-8).
Thursday’s contest tips at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Opponent Outlook:
Visiting the Sixers for the sixth stop on their seven-game road trip, the Trail Blazers have split their last 10 games, 5-5.
In their most recent outing against the Washington Wizards (4-13) Damian Lillard led the way for Portland, finishing with 32 points and eight assists, shooting 9-for-23 from the field and 10-for-10 from deep.
Lillard leads the Blazers in scoring, averaging 29.1 points per game - the third-highest average in the league. The five-time All-Star is questionable (abdominal strain) for Thursday’s matchup.
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