Rockets try to tame suddenly hot 76ers

The rejuvenated Philadelphia 76ers are fast becoming the talk of the NBA.

They won on Tuesday and Wednesday despite the absence of Joel Embiid, their leading scorer and rebounder, and have won five of six games and 10 of 13 heading into Friday's home game against the Houston Rockets.

One of the league's worst teams the last three years, the 76ers are 17-27 and are in 12th place in the Eastern Conference, just 4 1/2 games out of the eighth and final playoff spot.

"They're playing great," Milwaukee coach Jason Kidd told Philly.com after a 114-109 loss to the 76ers on Wednesday night in Milwaukee. "They're one of the hottest teams in the league. They've won with Embiid or with Embiid out. Coach (Brett Brown) has done a great job. They have always played hard and now they have some confidence. Embiid has given them the breath of winning and competing to win. I think it's become contagious through that locker room.

"With him out, maybe it might be a little bit different, but they've won with him out of the lineup. They're used to playing with him and without him, and that's another great credit to the coach of having those guys prepared."

Gerald Henderson scored 20 points and Ersan Ilyasova and Dario Saric added 17 apiece against the Bucks. Nerlens Noel, who started in Embiid's place for the second straight night, contributed 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Noel, who also scored a season-high 19 points in Tuesday's 121-110 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, nailed two free throws with 35.9 seconds left to put the Sixers ahead of Milwaukee to stay. He added a jumper with 15.6 seconds remaining.

Embiid, who has missed the last three games, is expected to return Friday. It remains unclear as to whether backup center Jahlil Okafor, out the last two with a sore right knee, will be back.

The Rockets (34-15) will be making the fourth stop on a five-game road trip, having dropped their last two, and three of four. They are also 3-6 since seeing a nine-game winning streak snapped, and in those six losses the opponents have averaged 118.3 points on 51.9-percent shooting.

In Wednesday's 120-109 loss in Boston, the Celtics made 66.7 percent of their second-half shots while outscoring Houston 68-51.

"We couldn't get a stop in the fourth quarter, and it seemed like they scored on every one of our mistakes," guard Patrick Beverley told the Houston Chronicle. "They were more desperate than us. They came out a little more aggressive than us.

"We are up and down. We're just going through one of those times of the year, everything is a little harder. We have to dig down a little deeper. We got to gut up."

James Harden had 30 points and 12 assists against the Celtics, his 17th game this season with at least 30 points and 10 assists. According to basketball-reference.com, that is the most in a season since the first year such things can be measured (1983-84).

Harden, whose average of 28.6 points a game is third-best in the league, poured in 33 in a 115-88 defeat of the Sixers on Nov. 14.