Sixers down Kings 123-103

PHILADELPHIA. PA - After a rocky start to the year, the Sixers seem to have finally found themselves a rhythm as they now sit in the 3rd seed in the eastern conference on a 3-game winning spell.

Joel Embiid continued his habitual dominance tonight with 31 points and 7 rebounds, going 11/13 from the floor. It’s been Embiid’s puissance that has propelled the Sixers to wins on more than one occasion over the past few weeks, most notably his 53-point effort in Sunday’s 131-113 win over the Charlotte Hornets.

While the Sixers star center has mainly acted alone during the last few weeks, James Harden has undoubtedly come on in a big way for the squad as of late. With 21 points and a team-high 15 assists, Harden has become a useful toy for Doc Rivers, especially in the absence of Tyrese Maxey who is projected to make his return sometime in the coming weeks.

Though it’s easy to have multiple stars who can put up big numbers night in and night out, what isn’t easy is finding a flow, where an entire team is working in unison and feeding a cause. That is exactly what the Sixers had struggled with early this season; many nights it seemed as though there was no gameplan, more like guys were just running around out there and throwing up shots. But as of the last few games, the team has seemed to find a rhythm and maybe even an identity.

Tonight we saw sustained streaks of positive play along with a lot of momentum swingers headed the Sixers way, something Doc Rivers has stressed a lot as of late. They were able to keep a tough Kings team at bay for nearly the entire game without giving much up. Earlier in the year, we saw the team build some big early leads with relative ease but soon falter as the 3rd and 4th quarters came around. Now, I’m not saying that a little three-game win streak is going to be the juice that turns the Sixers season around. However, the fundamental changes we’ve seen in the club’s play over the last few games has the potential to give them the fuel they need to fulfill their potential and become the team they were built to be. Next up for the Blue and White is a Friday night primetime matchup with Steph Curry and the defending champion Golden State Warriors.