The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Houston Rockets, 131-127, at Toyota Center on Friday night.

The Rockets (15-15) got the early jump on the Joel Embiid-less 76ers (22-9), forging a 32-26 lead through one. However, Philadelphia came back with its own strong offensive showing in the second to knock all but one point from its deficit, but Houston returned the favor in the third to push its advantage back to seven points. Nevertheless, the visitors would ultimately enjoy the upper hand in the see-saw battle, enjoying a 41-30 edge in the final 12 minutes for the comeback victory.

Tyrese Maxey led the 76ers with 42 points, adding four rebounds, four assists and one block. Tobias Harris supplied 22 points, seven assists, four rebounds, four steals and three blocks. De'Anthony Melton registered 15 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal. Marcus Morris managed 14 points, five rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block. Kelly Oubre netted 13 points.

Fred VanVleet paced the Rockets with a 33-point, 10-assist double-double that also included three rebounds, one steal and one block. Jalen Green furnished 31 points, six rebounds and four assists. Alperen Sengun generated 28 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, one steal and one block. Tari Eason managed 10 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, three steals and two blocks. Jeff Green matched Eason's scoring and added four boards, one steal and one block.

The 76ers remain on the road and visit the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night, while the Rockets remain home and welcome in the Detroit Pistons on Monday night.