Game ID: 22300434
Philadelphia 76ers @ Houston Rockets
Friday, December 29, 2023 at 8:00 PM ET
Toyota Center, Houston, TX
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
HOU 32 31 34 30 127PHI 26 36 28 41 131
HOU vs PHI ScoutingHOU vs PHI Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
HOU availability going into 12/22 · 1 day's restOUT Whitmore missed 8 since 12/06, returns tonight: 14 min (76% of 19)
BACK Thompson back 12/20 after 4, 8 min since (38% of 22)
BACK Landale back 12/13 after 3, 8 min since (56% of 14)
NEW Eason 22 to 28 min over the last 4
HOU availability going into 12/23 · back-to-backOUT Eason missed 2 since 12/20, returns tonight: 20 min (94% of 22)
BACK Thompson back 12/20 after 4, 15 min since (67% of 22)
BACK Whitmore back 12/22 after 8, 14 min since (76% of 19)
HOU availability going into 12/26 · 2 days' restBACK Thompson back 12/20 after 4, 14 min since (60% of 22)
BACK Eason back 12/23 after 2, 20 min since (94% of 22)
BACK Whitmore back 12/22 after 8, 14 min since (76% of 19)
HOU availability going into 12/27 · back-to-backOUT Whitmore missed 2 since 12/23, returns tonight: 18 min (95% of 19)
OUT Landale missed 2 since 12/23, returns tonight: 12 min (88% of 14)
BACK Thompson back 12/20 after 4, 13 min since (59% of 22)
BACK Eason back 12/23 after 2, 23 min since (106% of 22)
HOU availability going into 12/29 · 1 day's restBACK Thompson back 12/20 after 4, 14 min since (62% of 22)
BACK Eason back 12/23 after 2, 24 min since (110% of 22)
BACK Whitmore back 12/22 after 8, 16 min since (86% of 19)
BACK Landale back 12/27 after 2, 12 min since (88% of 14)
HOU availability going into 1/01 · 2 days' restOUT Brooks missed 2 since 12/27, out tonight
BACK Eason back 12/23 after 2, 25 min since (114% of 22)
BACK Whitmore back 12/22 after 8, 16 min since (86% of 19)
BACK Landale back 12/27 after 2, 10 min since (72% of 14)
HOU availability going into 1/03 · 1 day's restOUT Brooks missed 3 since 12/27, out tonight
BACK Eason back 12/23 after 2, 25 min since (113% of 22)
BACK Whitmore back 12/27 after 2, 13 min since (68% of 19)
BACK Landale back 12/27 after 2, 9 min since (65% of 14)
NEW Tate 16 to 22 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 1/05 · 1 day's restOUT Brooks missed 4 since 12/27, out tonight
BACK Whitmore back 12/27 after 2, 14 min since (75% of 19)
BACK Landale back 12/27 after 2, 9 min since (65% of 14)
NEW Tate 16 to 26 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 1/06 · back-to-backOUT Brooks missed 5 since 12/27, out tonight
BACK Whitmore back 12/27 after 2, 14 min since (76% of 19)
BACK Landale back 12/27 after 2, 8 min since (59% of 14)
NEW Tate 16 to 28 min over the last 5
PHI availability going into 12/20 · 1 day's restBACK House Jr. back 12/11 after 6, 8 min since (56% of 15)
BACK Martin back 12/11 after 2, 5 min since (42% of 12)
BACK Springer back 12/11 after 6, 10 min since (85% of 12)
PHI availability going into 12/22 · 1 day's rest
full strength
PHI availability going into 12/25 · 2 days' restOUT Batum missed 2 since 12/20, out tonight
PHI availability going into 12/27 · 1 day's restOUT Batum missed 3 since 12/20, out tonight
PHI availability going into 12/29 · 1 day's restOUT Embiid missed 2 since 12/25, out tonight
OUT Batum missed 4 since 12/20, out tonight
PHI availability going into 12/30 · back-to-backOUT Embiid missed 3 since 12/25, out tonight
OUT Batum missed 5 since 12/20, returns tonight: 19 min (73% of 26)
NEW Morris Sr. 17 to 23 min over the last 5
PHI availability going into 1/02 · 2 days' restOUT Embiid missed 4 since 12/25, returns tonight: 31 min (91% of 35)
OUT Springer missed 2 since 12/29, returns tonight: 21 min (181% of 12)
BACK Batum back 12/30 after 5, 19 min since (73% of 26)
NEW Melton 26 to 34 min over the last 4
PHI availability going into 1/05 · 2 days' restBACK Embiid back 1/02 after 4, 31 min since (91% of 35)
BACK Batum back 12/30 after 5, 21 min since (80% of 26)
BACK Springer back 1/02 after 2, 21 min since (181% of 12)
NEW Melton 26 to 34 min over the last 4
PHI availability going into 1/06 · back-to-backOUT Melton missed 2 since 1/02, out tonight
OUT Covington missed 2 since 1/02, out tonight
BACK Embiid back 1/02 after 4, 34 min since (98% of 35)
BACK Batum back 12/30 after 5, 21 min since (80% of 26)
BACK Springer back 1/02 after 2, 18 min since (153% of 12)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 117, shooting 46 percent and 35 from three, 25 free throws a game; Sengun at 25 and Smith Jr. at 20 a game. One day's rest. Philadelphia comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 109, shooting 48 percent and 38 from three, 23 free throws a game; Embiid at 41 and Maxey at 26 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Embiid (2 straight), Batum (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Philadelphia wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Philadelphia allowing 109 a night to Houston's 117 and the glass, where Houston has been minus-1 a night and Philadelphia minus-5. Call it Philadelphia 115, Houston 113, Houston keeping it close.
12/22 vs DAL 122-96 — HOU notes
HOU won 122-96. HOU shot 48% (46 of 95) to DAL's 35%, 11 of 38 from three. HOU turned it over 16 times to DAL's 11, and DAL turned those into 10 steals. The glass went 63-47 for them. Sengun led with 22 (8 of 12); Smith Jr. added 21, Ja. Green 17. The hinge was Q3, 33-21: a lead of 17 became 29, and the lead reached 38. Smith Jr. was the night's best plus/minus at +37.
12/23 @ NOP 106-104 — HOU notes
HOU won 106-104. HOU shot 43% (35 of 82) to NOP's 46%, 9 of 29 from three, and went to the line 35 times to NOP's 29 — 27 points from the stripe to their 20. HOU turned it over 11 times to NOP's 16. Sengun led with 37 (11 of 21, 14 of 17 at the line); Smith Jr. added 26, VanVleet 10. The hinge was Q4, 27-20: HOU came in trailing by 5 and left it ahead by 2. HOU trailed 47-51 at the half and won the second half 59-53. Brooks was the night's best plus/minus at +6.
12/26 vs IND 117-123 — HOU notes
HOU lost 117-123. HOU took 15 more shots (97 to 82), fed by 15 offensive rebounds, but shot 48% to IND's 52%, 5 of 24 from three. HOU turned it over 10 times to IND's 20. Sengun led with 30 (11 of 20, 8 of 9 at the line); VanVleet added 18, Eason 16. Q4 was theirs, 27-22, the deficit cut from 11 to 6, but the other 3 periods went 101-90 against them. They led by as many as 10. Ja. Green's -19 in 20 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/27 vs PHX 113-129 — HOU notes
HOU lost 113-129. HOU took 14 more shots (96 to 82), but shot 42% to PHX's 57%, 17 of 41 from three. HOU turned it over 9 times to PHX's 19. The glass went 33-44 against them. Sengun led with 24 (9 of 18, 1 of 4 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Ja. Green added 23, Holiday 13. Q4 was theirs, 29-25, the deficit cut from 20 to 16, but the other 3 periods went 104-84 against them. Eason's -20 in 25 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/29 vs PHI 127-131 — HOU notes
HOU lost 127-131. HOU shot 54% (49 of 91) to PHI's 52%, 14 of 30 from three, and got to the line 21 times to PHI's 33. HOU turned it over 16 times to PHI's 10, and PHI turned those into 10 steals. The glass went 42-30 for them. VanVleet led with 33 (9 of 16, 8 of 12 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Ja. Green added 31, Sengun 28. Q1 was theirs, 32-26, but the other 3 periods went 105-95 against them. They led by as many as 11. Eason's -8 in 27 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/01 vs DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 117, shooting 47 percent and 35 from three, 25 free throws a game; Sengun at 28 and Ja. Green at 17 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Brooks (2 straight). 2 days' rest. Detroit comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 124, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 28 free throws a game; Cunningham at 30 and Ivey at 18 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Stewart (2 straight), Sasser (2 straight), Bagley III (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the defense, Houston allowing 117 a night to Detroit's 124. Call it Houston 120, Detroit 112.
1/03 vs BKN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 120, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Sengun at 29 and Ja. Green at 18 a game. Without Brooks (3 straight). One day's rest. Brooklyn comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 120, shooting 42 percent and 28 from three, 28 free throws a game; Cam. Johnson at 18 and Bridges at 16 a game. That is 4 straight losses. Without Simmons (27 straight), Walker IV (16 straight), Clowney (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Houston at 38 percent from three to Brooklyn's 28. Call it Houston 119, Brooklyn 111.
1/05 vs MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 119, shooting 50 percent and 41 from three, 23 free throws a game; Sengun at 28 and VanVleet at 19 a game. Without Brooks (4 straight). One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 115, shooting 48 percent and 41 from three, 29 free throws a game; Edwards at 34 and Towns at 17 a game. One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Minnesota giving it away 17 times a game to Houston's 12 and the line, where Minnesota takes 29 free throws a game to Houston's 23. Call it Houston 115, Minnesota 112, Minnesota keeping it close.
1/06 vs MIL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 119, shooting 48 percent and 44 from three, 22 free throws a game; Sengun at 25 and Ja. Green at 22 a game. Without Brooks (5 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Milwaukee comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 124, shooting 51 percent and 37 from three, 26 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 33 and Lillard at 21 a game. Without Crowder (26 straight). One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Houston at 44 percent from three to Milwaukee's 37. Call it Houston 120, Milwaukee 119, Milwaukee keeping it close.
12/20 vs MIN 127-113 — PHI notes
PHI won 127-113. PHI shot 54% (45 of 84) to MIN's 51%, 8 of 22 from three, and went to the line 32 times to MIN's 24 — 29 points from the stripe to their 20. PHI turned it over 12 times to MIN's 18. Embiid led with 51 (17 of 25, 17 of 18 at the line); Maxey added 35. The hinge was Q4, 37-26: a lead of 3 became 14. Morris Sr. was the night's best plus/minus at +23.
12/22 vs TOR 121-111 — PHI notes
PHI won 121-111. PHI shot 53% (44 of 83) to TOR's 45%, 14 of 31 from three, and got to the line 21 times to TOR's 28. Maxey led with 33 (13 of 22, 4 of 10 from three); Harris added 33, Embiid 31. The hinge was Q2, 33-21: PHI came in trailing by 9 and left it ahead by 3, and the lead reached 16. Maxey was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
12/25 @ MIA 113-119 — PHI notes
PHI lost 113-119. PHI took 10 more shots (94 to 84), but shot 43% to MIA's 48%, 17 of 45 from three, and got to the line 25 times to MIA's 35. PHI turned it over 7 times to MIA's 14. The glass went 36-56 against them. Harris led with 27 (10 of 18, 4 of 7 from three); Oubre Jr. added 25, Bamba 18. Q3 was theirs, 37-23, the deficit cut from 14 to 0, but the other 3 periods went 96-76 against them. They led by as many as 10. Beverley's -18 in 13 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/27 @ ORL 112-92 — PHI notes
PHI won 112-92. PHI shot 47% (45 of 96) to ORL's 39%, 10 of 28 from three, and got to the line 17 times to ORL's 24. PHI turned it over 10 times to ORL's 16. Maxey led with 23 (9 of 18, 3 of 6 from three); Melton added 22, Harris 22. The hinge was Q4, 28-17: a lead of 9 became 20, and the lead reached 23. Melton was the night's best plus/minus at +24.
12/29 @ HOU 131-127 — PHI notes
PHI won 131-127. PHI shot 52% (45 of 86) to HOU's 54%, 12 of 33 from three, and went to the line 33 times to HOU's 21 — 29 points from the stripe to their 15. PHI turned it over 10 times to HOU's 16. The glass went 30-42 against them. Maxey led with 42 (13 of 26, 2 of 9 from three, 14 of 15 at the line); Harris added 22, Melton 15. The hinge was Q4, 41-30: PHI came in trailing by 7 and left it ahead by 4. PHI trailed 62-63 at the half and won the second half 69-64.
12/30 @ CHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Chicago comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 109, shooting 48 percent and 32 from three, 19 free throws a game; DeRozan at 23 and White at 18 a game. Without LaVine (14 straight), Vučević (2 straight), Craig (6 straight). One day's rest. Philadelphia comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 112, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 26 free throws a game; Maxey at 29 and Harris at 23 a game. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. Without Embiid (3 straight), Batum (5 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Philadelphia wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Chicago has been plus-0 a night and Philadelphia minus-8 and the arc, Philadelphia at 38 percent from three to Chicago's 32. Call it Philadelphia 114, Chicago 113, Chicago keeping it close.
1/02 vs CHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Philadelphia comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 111, shooting 47 percent and 35 from three, 22 free throws a game; Maxey at 26 and Harris at 24 a game. It has lost the glass by 10 a night. Without Embiid (4 straight). 2 days' rest. Chicago comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 106, shooting 47 percent and 26 from three, 23 free throws a game; DeRozan at 22 and White at 19 a game. Without LaVine (15 straight), Vučević (3 straight), Craig (7 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Philadelphia wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Chicago has been plus-2 a night and Philadelphia minus-10 and the arc, Philadelphia at 35 percent from three to Chicago's 26. Call it Philadelphia 114, Chicago 109.
1/05 vs NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Philadelphia comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 108, shooting 46 percent and 34 from three, 24 free throws a game; Maxey at 24 and Harris at 21 a game. It has lost the glass by 10 a night. 2 days' rest. New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 118, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 25 free throws a game; Randle at 33 and Brunson at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Robinson (13 straight). One day's rest.
So: Philadelphia wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-8 a night and Philadelphia minus-10 and the defense, Philadelphia allowing 108 a night to New York's 118. Call it Philadelphia 117, New York 112.
1/06 vs UTA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Philadelphia comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 110, shooting 45 percent and 32 from three, 24 free throws a game; Maxey at 27 and Harris at 17 a game. It has lost the glass by 9 a night. Without Melton (2 straight), Covington (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Utah comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 117, shooting 46 percent and 30 from three, 28 free throws a game; Markkanen at 20 and Sexton at 19 a game. Without Hendricks (5 straight), Juzang (10 straight), Sensabaugh (5 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Philadelphia wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Utah has been plus-2 a night and Philadelphia minus-9 and the defense, Philadelphia allowing 110 a night to Utah's 117. Call it Philadelphia 117, Utah 113, Utah keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
HOUAH A. Holiday
AS A. Sengun
AT A. Thompson
FV F. VanVleet
JG J. Green
JL J. Landale
JT J. Tate
JG Ja. Green
TE T. Eason
PHIDH D. House Jr.
DM D. Melton
KO K. Oubre Jr.
MB M. Bamba
MM M. Morris Sr.
PB P. Beverley
PR P. Reed
RC R. Covington
TH T. Harris
TM T. Maxey
HOU/PHI the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
HOUSTON -- — Tyrese Maxey had 42 points and the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers outlasted the Houston Rockets 131-127 on Friday night.
“That was a good level of aggressiveness for him tonight,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said. “I thought he was really great with his jets on tonight.”
Philadelphia superstar Joel Embiid was out for a third consecutive game with a sprained right ankle and will miss at least one more game with the 76ers ruling him out Saturday night at Chicago. Nicolas Batum sat out for a fifth game with a strained right hamstring.
Tobias Harris added 22 points for the 76ers. They won for the fourth time in five games and sent Houston to its third straight loss.
It was the fourth straight game with at least 20 points for Harris.
“He’s been so much more in control,” Nurse said. “He’s been so much more decisive. He was attacking aggressively. That to me is he’s just feeling really good about his game. He’s just confident right now. I love it.”
Fred VanVleet had 33 points and 10 rebounds for Houston. Jalen Green added 31 points and Alperen Sengun had 28 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
“We did our best, but on the offense, these things happen,” Sengun said. “We just couldn’t finish good at the end of the game.”
De’Anthony Melton put Philadelphia on top with a driving layup before Marcus Morris made a 3-pointer and a free throw after being fouled by VanVleet to extend the lead to 127-122 with about 30 seconds left.
Green hit a 3 for Houston to get the Rockets within two with 25 seconds left. Houston intentionally fouled Melton and he made 1 of 2 free throws to extend the lead to three.
A layup by Green cut the lead it to one with 17 seconds remaining. Houston intentionally fouled Melton again, but this time he made both free throws to make it 130-127.
Green had a chance to attempt a 3 on the other end, but instead passed inside to Jock Landale , who missed a layup and Morris made a free throw to secure the victory.
“We just made some big shots down the stretch,” Nurse said.
The Rockets were without Dillon Brooks , who missed a second straight game with an oblique injury, and Jabari Smith Jr., out with a sprained left ankle.