Sixers Hold Harden to 37, Live Rent Free in His Head En Route to Obliterating Rockets

Last night was one of those very rare nights where every single little thing went right. They come once or twice a season for any team. By God, when Corey Brewer is living rent free in James Harden’s head, you have cashed in one of your perfect nights.

Far and away the best defensive performance of the Sixers season. Houston is depleted but the energy and effort was off the charts. Held Harden to close to 40 (lol) and had about 92 blocked shots. They are 3-1 on the Death Stretch™️ now, it’s all coming together. Just in time for Markelle Fultz to come back and we have to reconfigure the lineup. But hey, I’m not here to ruin the perfect night!

To me, the fan who thinks they know something, the two keys for the Sixers are: defensive energy and Joel Embiid paint touches. Corey Brewer gave a whole hell of a lot of one of those. Without Jimmy, I thought Kobe’s 81 was in a lot of danger thanks to Harden. But Brewer (and somehow McConnell) along with Brett Brown’s halfcourt trap scheme really threw the Rockets off.

It’s insane to think Harden scored 40, in 3 quarters, and they still had his number. Embiid’s chasedown block and proceeding taunting was hilarious. It was my favorite hilariously bad missed call that benefited my happiness since well, Sunday. No Dreams and Nightmares in the locker room post-game, New Orleans? Scumbags.

But, of course Embiid didn’t get a tech, and the Rockets did. Because that’s what happens on your perfect nights. Enjoy them. Every single thing goes perfectly, down to the timeout gimmicks:

https://twitter.com/BR_NBA/status/1087551295798591488

Last thing, if you follow Barstool, this combination of people was hilarious:

https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/1087533961566474240

By Aidan Powers | January 22, 2019