The Philadelphia 76ers will continue a Western Conference swing with a meeting with the host Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night as they attempt to keep finding their form.
After a slow start to the campaign, the Sixers are on a season-best three-game winning streak that includes a 114-111 victory over the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City on Saturday. Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey each scored 32 points to pace Philadelphia’s offensive attack.
Embiid went 11-for-13 from the charity stripe — where he is 70-for-75 on the season — against Utah to help the 76ers rally from a 14-point first-half deficit. It marked Philadelphia’s ninth win in 12 games.
The Sixers are finally starting to have Embiid in the lineup more consistently, as the MVP of the 2022-23 campaign is in line to play four games in a row for the first time this season when Philadelphia takes on Portland. Embiid has appeared in 10 of the 76ers’ 29 games.
“I thought he was rolling really good (against the Jazz),” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said of Embiid. “I thought he really played at a great tempo. He was under control, had the shot fakes, drawing all the fouls, all that stuff. … I thought he played pretty assertive.
Philadelphia will face a rejuvenated Trail Blazers team, which is seeking a third consecutive win. Portland most recently relied on an even spread of contributors in a 126-122 win over the visiting Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night.
Shaedon Sharpe (23 points), Anfernee Simons (22), Deandre Ayton (21), Deni Avdija (21) and Scoot Henderson (19) all took turns in getting the scoreboard moving.
Blazers coach Chauncey Billups missed his second straight game due to the death of his grandmother, but it seems like his messages are starting to finally sink in.
“Everything is starting to click,” said Ayton, who also had 16 rebounds on Saturday. “The things we’ve been doing in the lab is being consistent and guys just buying in. … It’s starting to click where we’re starting to see some of these results. … The vets on the team are talking a lot more, and the young guys are really speaking up as well; (they’re) asking a lot more questions.”
Henderson’s improved form has been a key to Portland’s recent surge.
The exciting second-year playmaker has seemingly snapped out of a rut by following an 18-point, 10-assist double-double against the Jazz with six assists and a career-best five steals against the Mavericks to complement his scoring.
“He’s contagious,” Ayton said of Henderson. “When he’s firing like that, he’s downhill, he starts flexing, being animated, (and) that energy spreads quickly.”
Sharpe has also noticed a new and improved version of Henderson since Christmas.
“He’s just been more aggressive and been himself,” Sharpe said. “(Henderson is) making the right plays and getting everyone involved — just being the point guard everyone knows he can be. Everyone’s touching the ball, everyone’s creating for each other, and the energy is high right now.”
