Philly Sports Jabronis
By Max Rappaport, Sixers.com
BROOKLYN –– When the clock struck zero Friday night, there was singing, there was dancing, and the Sixers left the Barclays Center with their second come-from-behind victory this week.
It’s not often a team with a winning percentage below the Mendoza Line can relish victories the way this young group does, but then again most teams aren’t the 2014-15 Philadelphia 76ers.
With a roster that is the youngest and least experienced in NBA history, each game is seen as an opportunity – to learn, to develop, and to make a statement. And on Friday, the Sixers indeed made a statement: that despite mounting losses and despite unfavorable odds almost every night, they’re sticking together and staying motivated.
“If we [didn’t play as a team], and you have a record like we have, you wouldn’t have a locker room that sings together and hugs each other,” head coach Brett Brown said of his team’s resolve and their elation following the win. “We get down 13, 23 on the road, and on many nights come back, so if we don’t have [that spirit], then we don’t have much.”
The Sixers and Nets traded blows early in the game, but after falling behind in the middle of the opening frame, Philadelphia trailed for 40 straight minutes, falling behind by as many as 13 during the third quarter. It wasn’t until an 9-0 run courtesy of four successful and uninterrupted offensive trips in a row beginning with just under four minutes left to play that the Sixers reclaimed the lead they’d lost early in the night, at that point up 88-86 with 2:41 to play.
Turnovers and missed shots by both teams down the stretch resulted in a stalemate over the next two-and-a-half minutes that was broken by a floater in the lane by Brook Lopez to knot the score at 88 with 25.2 seconds left. On the Sixers’ final possession of the game, Philadelphia’s offense flattened to create isolation for Michael Carter-Williams, who milked the game clock down to seven seconds before driving right off a Luc Mbah a Moute pick-and-pop.
The second-year point guard got a step on Jarrett Jack of the Nets and attacked the rim. As Nerlens Noel sat on the baseline underneath the rim, his man, Mason Plumlee, stepped up to deny Carter-Williams at the basket. With just under five seconds remaining on the game clock, he dished the ball off to Noel, who squared up toward the basket, rose up, and jammed with two hands to put the Sixers on top 90-88 with 3.2 seconds left.
After a timeout, the Nets were unable to convert on a desperation three-point attempt by Brook Lopez, and the Sixers earned their sixth win of the season.
“Tonight was really his night, probably the best I’ve seen him play,” said Carter-Williams of his teammate and longtime friend, Noel. “He played really well for us tonight, not only offensively, but defensively he was great. He was in the right position the whole game.”
Top Performers
Robert Covington: 20 points (8/12 FG, 3/6 3FG), 7 rebounds, 6 steals
Nerlens Noel: 12 points (6/10 FG), 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Luc Mbah a Moute: 16 points (6/10 FG, 2/3 3FG), 4 rebounds, 3 steals
Allow Me To Reintroduce My Mself, My Name Is COV
After suffering through his worst offensive performance as a pro – 1-for-11 from the floor and 1-for-9 from deep for eight points – in Wednesday’s 97-77 home loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Robert Covington put together one of his best. In 40 minutes of action, he went 8-for-12 from the floor (3/6 3FG) and scored a game-high 20 points to go along with seven rebounds and six steals.
Inside The Numbers: 11
For the Sixers this season, so much of their game-to-game success has been determined by turnovers (or the lack thereof). Against the Nets, the Sixers committed 14, well below their season average of 18.4 per game, while Brooklyn gave it up 18 times, well above their average of 14.2 a night. The differential in points scored as a result of those turnovers was 11, with the Sixers scoring 23 points off of Nets turnovers and Brooklyn scoring just 12 points off of Philadelphia turnovers.
