James Harden on Chemistry With Joel Embiid After Beating Bucks

The Philadelphia 76ers faced a tough schedule so far following the All-Star break. Prior to Saturday’s game, the Sixers took on the Memphis Grizzlies, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, and Dallas Mavericks. On Saturday, the trend of challenging games continued with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Going into the matchup, the Bucks were the hottest team in the NBA, riding a 16-game win streak. With their recent heater, Milwaukee surpassed the Boston Celtics and started leading the Eastern Conference, where the 76ers place third at the moment.

In a significant matchup against a team like the Bucks, Sixers stars James Harden, and Joel Embiid know they have to go above and beyond to take out a team that has stars such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday.

Through the first half of action, Embiid and Harden did well enough to get the game within arms reach but couldn’t quite make the impact they wanted.

Trailing by six points, Harden led the Sixers with 15 points, six rebounds, and three assists while shooting 5-16 from the field. Embiid was having one of his quieter nights in the beginning, shooting 5-11 from the field and scoring 12 points while coming down with three rebounds and producing four assists.

At the start of the second half, Milwaukee was pulling away with the lead. The once six-point deficit for the Sixers turned to 18 points. It wasn’t an ideal scenario, but it was definitely something the Sixers proved they could pull themselves out of before.

A near-50-point fourth-quarter rally was in store for the Sixers. Harden and Embiid’s two-man game shined bright as the star guard produced 19 points in 12 minutes. He was highly efficient from the field, knocking down five of his nine shots. Also, he was perfect from the charity stripe, going 7-7 in free throws.

It certainly wasn’t the easiest win for the Sixers, but following a 133-130 comeback victory, the Sixers once again proved that they could find the answers no matter what.

“Every single game, we figure it out,” Harden said regarding his chemistry with Embiid.

"You know, he's the leading scorer. We try to give him the ball, get him the shots. I tried to be aggressive tonight. He was aggressive in both ways, scoring the basketball and being a playmaker. So we're just gonna try to get our teammates the ball. Tonight, it was a good job.”

Embiid and Harden joined legendary company on Saturday night. With Embiid finishing the game with 31 points and ten assists, and Harden dropping 38 points along with ten assists, they became the second pair of Sixers teammates ever to score 30 points while producing ten assists in the same game, joining Wilt Chamberlain and Hal Greer.

“Every game… Every game. One game at a time,” Harden said. “We got one of the toughest schedules. Every game, one at a time. Try to get better, take it quarter by quarter, and just keep pushing and get ready for the postseason.”

By taking down the Bucks on Saturday, the Sixers moved to 3-3 since the All-Star break. They’ll pay a visit to the Indiana Pacers on Monday night, looking to keep the ball rolling.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.