Harris changing fan perception
Batum ends shooting slump with 14 points
Tobias Harris is silencing his haters.
Nico Batum broke out of his shooting slump. And Paul Reed and Mo Bamba did a terrific job filling in for Joel Embiid.
Those three things stood out in the 76ers’ 112-93 victory over the Sacramento Kings Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
Harris has been one of the most criticized Sixers since signing his five-year deal July 10, 2019.
A lot of the hate comes from fans who think he hasn’t lived up to the $180 million contract he received. Well, they couldn’t talk about his lucrative contract against the Kings. Harris showed flashes of the ability that spurred the Sixers (24-13) to give him a near-maximum salary. He finished with a season-high 37 points along with seven rebounds and three steals.
This marked the first time Harris scored 30 or more points in consecutive games in his career. He had 32 points in Wednesday’s road loss to the Atlanta Hawks. The Sixers are making a more conscious effort to get him involved in the offense, and he’s even initiated action in these two recent performances.
Things will probably change once Embiid returns from a sore left knee. But Harris’ newfound role has been great for him and the Sixers. It’s also led to positive reactions from the fans who had been unsatisfied with his production.
On Friday, the power forward made 14 of 25 shots and went 3-for-7 from the 3-point line. He also made all six of his foul shots. Twenty-three of his points came in the first half. The Kings doubleteamed him after intermission, leading to three third-quarter turnovers. While he scored five points on 2-for-3 shooting in that quarter, Harris rebounded and added nine points in the fourth quarter.
The sellout crowd chanted “To-bi … To-bi … To-bi” with a little less than four minutes remaining. With 37 points, they were encouraging him to hit a 3-pointer to reach 40. Harris missed a late 3-point attempt but exited the game to a standing ovation with 3 minutes, 13 seconds to play.
Harris also shined on defense. The Kings shot only 1-for-10 with three turnovers when he was the primary on-ball defender. Harris guarded Sacramento center Domantas Sabonis in the first half, holding to All-Star to two points on 1-for-2 shooting.
The Sixers forward struggled through 18.2% 3-point shooting in the previous four games. He even shook his head with disappointment after missing a late 3-pointer that would have put the game away in the Sixers’ Wednesday loss to the Atlanta Hawks. But he couldn’t miss against the Kings. Batum scored tied a season high with 14 points on 5-for-5 shooting while making four 3-pointers. That helped the Sixers improve to 4-1 when he makes at least three 3-pointers. The Sixers are also 4-0 when he scores at least 10 points.
He’s shooting 47.8% on 3-pointers as a Sixer, the highest percentage of his career.