Sixers Sing Praises of Tobias Harris After Game 4

Tobias Harris received tons of praise after the Sixers' Game 4 win over the Nets.

On the eve of their Game 4 matchup against the Brooklyn Nets, the Philadelphia 76ers found out that their star center Joel Embiid was going to miss Saturday’s matchup due to a knee sprain.

Without Joel Embiid, the Sixers have a lot to make up for on both ends of the floor. Through the first half of Saturday’s game, it was clear the big man’s absence was impacting the game negatively for the Sixers as they shot just 34 percent from the floor through the first two quarters.

With everybody in the starting five struggling from the field, Tobias Harris was the the lone shooter knocking shots down efficiently. With his first eight attempts, Harris made five baskets. Although his numbers proved he was consistent, Doc Rivers felt Harris was chasing baskets, rather than allowing opportunities to come to him.

Rivers Puts Percentage on Embiid’s Return Next Round

“Beginning of the game he was chasing scoring,” said Rivers. “Like, I'm gonna be a scorer tonight, and he was out of sorts.”

Then when the game reached crunch time, and the Sixers needed closers to step up, Harris was the guy they relied on.

“When he took his time, he literally dominated that fourth quarter and won that game for us,” Rivers continued. “That was huge for us.”

Often viewed as the Sixers’ fourth option on the offensive end, Harris’s contributions tend to go unnoticed. Some around the Sixers’ organization have described him as an unsung hero. In Game 4, that surely wasn’t the case.

“This definitely wasn’t unsung,” said Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey. “He played his tail off. He played his tail off, his communication out there, I say it every time that he's a pro's pro, and he's always here when we need him. Tonight, we needed him. Guys couldn’t get it going. I was missing layups, James was missing layups. Easy shots. Melton was joking around about how he couldn’t make a shot in the second half. Tobias kept us afloat, and he closed the game out for us.”

“Nobody talks enough about Tobias on our team,” added PJ Tucker. “To be able to have somebody his size, especially our front four to be able to switch in certain situations to be able to guard bigs, guard guards, and take advantage of rebounding and being able to take advantage of teams with small guards. It’s hard with Joel to be able to do that a lot, but when he’s out, it’s a big factor for us. So Tobias was big on both sides of the floor today.”

Harris scored eight points in under nine minutes during the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game. He helped the Sixers outscore Brooklyn 30-25 in the fourth quarter of action. After a much better showing in the second half, the Sixers closed out the low-scoring outing with a 96-88 win. The Game 4 victory completed the series sweep, and the Sixers handled business without Embiid on the floor.

Recap: Sixers Sweep Nets 

“He was great, man. Just attacking the basket, finishing around the rim, knocking threes down, defensively being being great,” James Harden said of Harris. “I mean, it's a special performance for him. We needed it.”

Harris finished Game 4 with a game-high of 25 points on 11-19 shooting from the field. He also secured a double-double by coming down with 12 rebounds. Overall, Harris averaged 20 points, nine rebounds, and two assists while hitting on 57 percent of his threes during round one.