In Tuesday night’s win in New York, Tobias Harris played like a worthy third wheel on a contender.
While Tyrese Maxey is receiving well-deserved accolades for his starring performance in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 112-106 Game 5 win, every leading man needs a strong supporting cast to bolster the production. After performances in Games 1 through 4 that ranged from slightly disappointing to downright dreadful, Tobias Harris finally put together what turned out to be over 49 minutes of excellent play to quiet the critics.
Throughout the game, Harris was, to borrow some Brett Brown parlance, the adult in the room. He scored 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, hitting both high degree of difficulty contested shots and the wide-open looks that some of his teammates were finding exceedingly difficult. Tobias was also aggressive on the defensive end and the glass, exuding the steady calm one would expect of a 13-year veteran.
Harris started off strong by scoring the first five points of the game, steadily chipped in throughout the contest, then hit one of the most important shots of the night to make it a one-possession game again with five minutes left in regulation.
Credit where credit is due – Tobias Harris was great last night. This tough bucket from the elbow to keep the Knicks lead manageable late in the 4th was absolutely massive. He knocked down open shots & didn’t force things… Big time from Tobi when he was needed most. Nice to see. pic.twitter.com/2YGQafNx0l
— Josh Reynolds (@JoshReynolds24) May 1, 2024
Head coach Nick Nurse made sure to mention the importance of that moment during his postgame press conference:
“He was really good. I thought he made the shot of the night, to be honest with you. We were down five, spinning out of control, and he came down and made a huge, super-tough, 17-foot turnaround to cut it back to five after the momentum … the place was going crazy. That to me was the second-best shot of the night.”
Tobias later responded to that praise from Nurse and his having composure in that moment:
“I think with this type of game and what it means for our whole group, we just want to stay balanced, stay even-keeled, stay locked in. I think at that point, we needed to get a shot off. The shot clock was running low and I was just able to get a good look off. For me personally, it’s always staying balanced. My opportunity is going to come. Tonight was a great (example) of that — being ready, staying with it, staying composed. I think for our whole group, that’s kind of the name of the game for us in the playoffs. We’re going to need added efforts from different guys. Obviously we know this team is centered around Tyrese and Joel, but everyone else has to remain confident in different ways. And sometimes that’s going out there and being the best screener, (playing) the best defense out there, rebounding. It’s a collective effort as a whole group, and we understand that. I thought tonight with the way we were able to play, we got great, balanced efforts from a lot of guys.”
His teammates were also quick to sing Harris’ praises at the end of the night. Joel Embiid spoke on Tobias’ importance to the team:
“It’s huge. When Tobias plays well, I think we have a high chance to win any game. Like I’ve been saying all season long, for us to win, we have to be perfect. Everybody has to somehow play well and we all have to play well at the same time. … He also deserves a lot of credit. Obviously making shots is a whole different story. It happens. Sometimes you make shots, sometimes you don’t, but I think he’s been great on the defensive end. He’s been hustling. He’s been rebounding the ball. I think he’s been doing other things, and that’s the way I look at it. When you don’t got it going offensively, what else can you do to help the team? That’s usually the other side of it. I think he’s been trying. I think he’s been giving himself up to us and we just appreciate him.”
Now, the key will be for Harris to avoid being a one-hit wonder. Game 5’s win was a tremendous moment, but it ultimately doesn’t mean much if the Sixers fall on Thursday night back in Philadelphia. To do so, they’ll need Tuesday’s version of Harris, not the player we saw earlier in the series who often didn’t deserve a spot in the crunch-time lineup. Harris discussed leaving everything out there at the Garden and how the Sixers summon that again for Game 6:
“It’s the playoffs. It’s the playoffs. That’s what’s expected on a night-to-night basis, especially when your backs are against the wall like tonight and the next game that we’ll have. For us, it’s just to go out there and play hard, play tougher, play stronger. Do everything, fight every possession that we have, every possession that we can. Tonight, I just feel like we did a great job of trusting each other out there and making the right plays. Things didn’t go our way sometimes, but move on to the next play and stay with it. So need that same type of energy and that same type of team morale. … I think in general, just keep rolling.”
For now, Sixers fans are celebrating an all-time exciting playoff moment. Whether Tobias Harris can replicate his Game 5 performance will go a long way towards determining if that celebration can keep going into the weekend.