Morey praises Harden after strong 76ers debut: 'Basketball genius'

Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey couldn't hold back his excitement after newly acquired star James Harden went off for a 27-point double-double in his debut Friday night.

"I try not to get too high or too low, but that was a good one," Morey told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne following his team's 133-102 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Beyond his individual success, Harden was a team-best plus-35 in his 35 minutes. The 10-time All-Star also meshed well with MVP candidate Joel Embiid, as the big man dropped 34 points on 10-of-18 shooting with five of Harden's 12 assists contributing to his baskets.

To Morey, the fit between his two superstars was one of the highlights of Harden's debut.

"James is a basketball genius," he added, "And he's been wanting to play with Joel for a long time. I think he's always thought Joel was, like, the perfect guy to pair with him."

Harden shared a similar sentiment, emphasizing to reporters that he was "extremely happy" with his team's performance.

At 36-23, Philadelphia sits just 2.5 games back of both the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls for the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed.