In an unexpected result, the Philadelphia 76ers blew out the Houston Rockets by 38 points. Russell Westbrook missed the game due to injury and the Rockets were unable to ever get back into the game. But the biggest highlight was James Harden almost getting into a scuffle with Joel Embiid.

Just a few minutes into the third quarter, the 76ers were up 74-58. As Embiid tried to post up on Harden, he got hit on the hand. A foul wasn’t called as Harden collected the rebound. Annoyed by this, he pushed away Harden with his shoulder. Harden immediately retaliated by throwing the ball on Embiid and got a technical in the process. The 76ers big man was lucky to get away with a double technical.

Are the Houston Rockets ready for the OKC Thunder?

Although Harden played just 26 minutes tonight, Westbrook is going to miss a few of the playoff games too. So the burden will be on Harden, as he will have to carry them. Eric Gordon’s return is a boost for the  Rockets, but coach Mike D’Antoni will hope that the rest of the team can step up in Westbrook’s absence. He will also be expecting Daniel House to return soon after he suffered a toe injury.

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The Thunder beat the Rockets in their last two encounters back in January. Harden had struggled in both games and shot poorly. With the Rockets not having the energy Westbrook brought into the team, they could risk slipping against the spirited Thunder team.

OKC had a mixed bag of results in the bubble. They went 4-4 in their eight games. They had impressive wins against the Heat and the Lakers but had a terrible loss to the Grizzlies, who only won twice throughout the whole bubble.

A positive for the Thunder will the return of Andre Roberson and the emergence of Luguentz Dort. One is an established defender while the other one is a rising defensive star. They will be key for the Thunder to guard the likes of Harden and Gordon.

The Rockets will be the favorites going into the matchup considering their impressive outings in the other seeding games. Harden will be leading the charge, hoping to clear his name as a poor playoff performer and lead his team to the title.