Philadelphia 76ers' 'unstoppable' duo of Joel Embiid, James Harden
Channel: Scott Cole
Date: 02/03/2022

"Unstoppable," Embiid said with a smile after finishing with 37 points -- including 23 free throws made on 27 attempts (the most attempts by any player in a single game in nearly three years). He also added nine rebounds and four blocked shots in Philadelphia's 125-109 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Sunday afternoon.

"What are you really going to do?" Embiid said. "He's a great passer, and obviously I've got someone [next to me] that attracts a lot of attention to him, so you've got to make a decision. Do you stay on me, or do you stay on him? And if you want to guard both of us with the other guys, now you've got Matisse [Thybulle] diving to the rim or wide-open shooters that have got one job to do, and that's make shots. That's all we got to keep doing.

"Like I was saying in the locker room, I'm happy I don't have to post up every single possession, so it's great."

Through those first two games, the results are hard to argue with. Philadelphia has averaged 129 points per game -- even after shooting 10-for-33 from 3-point range Sunday -- and Embiid and Harden are, predictably, making regular trips to the foul line. The two combined for 22 free throw attempts in Friday's 133-102 win in Minneapolis over the Timberwolves, and had 37 Sunday against the Knicks. Harden was a perfect 10-for-10 from the line.

Embiid got to the line more than anyone since Anthony Davis also shot 27 free throws in an October 2019 game against the Memphis Grizzlies. It got to the point on Sunday where both New York centers, Mitchell Robinson and Jericho Sims, had fouled out by the early stages of the fourth quarter.

"That's our job every single night, is to put pressure on that rim," said Harden, who had 29 points, 10 rebounds and 16 assists to post his first triple-double as a 76er. "That creates opportunities for ourselves and our teammates. There's a lot of opportunities Joel had with and-1s where he just didn't convert, but that pressure night-in and night-out consistently is going to be tough for teams to cover."

It has taken no time at all for Harden and Embiid to find a rhythm in the pick-and-roll. While Embiid has never preferred to be a roll man in two-man actions -- something Tyrese Maxey gave him a hard time about when Embiid was asked about it after Sunday's game -- he had plenty of success with it against the Knicks.