NBA Playoffs: Joel Embiid Praises Tobias Harris for Holding Sixers Down vs. Wizards

Joel Embiid's first game of the 2021 NBA Playoffs didn't exactly go as planned. Although the Philadelphia 76ers' MVP finalist had himself a routine 30-point performance, his foul trouble at the early stages of the game landed the Sixers in some hot water early on.

Two fouls in the first quarter left Sixers head coach Doc Rivers slightly concerned. A third foul early on in the second quarter forced Rivers to take Embiid out much earlier than planned as he didn't want his star center to cut too deep and land the team in serious trouble before a critical second-half.

With Embiid off the floor for 14 minutes in the first half, somebody had to step up and take over. Sixers veteran forward Tobias Harris rose to the challenge and put on his best playoff performance in a Sixers uniform against Washington.

“It felt good,” Harris said, following the game in regards to his performance. “I think just being able to go out there and find a good balance of being aggressive and still doing whatever I can to make the right plays out there; winning plays, and just to really get in a good rhythm. It’s a good game for myself.”

Playing without Embiid is nothing new for Harris and the Sixers. While the All-Star big man has had one of his healthier years, he still missed 21 games in 2020-2021. So, Harris used the experience without Embiid to his advantage on Sunday night. 

"When he went down, I looked at it kind of how I looked at it when Joel went down with an injury," Harris explained. "He goes out with three fouls, and it was just the same mentality of, 'Alright, we got to get this thing rolling,' and the opportunities were there for me to be aggressive, get to my spots, and get the shots that I wanted to get."

Embiid, who spent an undesirable amount of time in the "cool off station" watching Harris cook, appreciated the veteran's willingness to step up and collect 28 first-half points in the 19 minutes Harris was on the floor.

“It was huge, especially in that time,” Embiid said. “When I was on the bench, we needed a scorer, and he showed up the whole game, really, but especially in that first half. I think he had 28 or 30 points at halftime -- that was huge for us. Especially because they were also making a lot of shots, and they went on a run. (Harris) keeping us in the game while I was on the bench is huge.”

Harris finished the day off with a game-high of 37 points in 37 minutes of action. While Embiid certainly did his part in contributing 30 points during his unusually limited playoff minutes, it was Harris who outdueled the Wizards' combination of Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal and helped Philly pick up its first playoff win of the postseason on Sunday. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.