A dramatic, shorthanded win? That sounds more like the 76ers we came to know throughout a resoundingly successful January.
With time running out Thursday at Amway Center, Ersan Ilyasova tipped a jump ball to the sideline, where it was chased down by T.J. McConnell. The steely point guard then drove from the wing into the paint, rose up over C.J. Watson, and stuck an eight-foot jump shot with 5.8 seconds to go. The second-year Sixer stole the ball on Orlando’s ensuing in-bounds sequence, sending his squad to a 112-111 win over the Magic.
“I went and got it, saw the middle open, so I took it, came to a jump stop, and just shot it and got a good roll,” said McConnell, recounting the decisive deposit.
The Sixers’ victory snapped a five-game losing streak, and represented their first triumph of February. The month opened in somewhat uneven fashion, after a 10-5 start to the new year.
“They work very hard, and they really have since we have had them,” Brett Brown said afterwards. “We just haven’t had some wins lately after that great month of January.”
Thursday’s triumph marked the SIxers’ 19th of the season, matching the highest total that Brown has achieved during his now four-year tenure with the franchise. The Sixers also won 19 times during the head coach’s 2013-2014 debut campaign.
“To win on the road, and to win on the road on a back-to-back, is a real credit to the players,” said Brown. “I am proud of them, and I am pleased with them.”
The back-and-forth battle featured five ties and 10 lead changes.
Having never hit a game-winning shot in his life prior to this season, turning the trick has now become old hat of sorts for McConnell. Four weeks ago at The Center, the second-year Sixer poured in a turnaround, buzzer-beating baseline jumper over Carmelo Anthony to knock off the Knicks, 98-97.
Thursday, McConnell had a little more time to spare.
“I don’t know,” replied McConnell, when asked Thursday how clutch he considers himself. “I just…this is my so-called second game-winner in however many years of playing basketball, so I can’t be that clutch. I heard Joel [Embiid] had different words to say, so I’ll let him be the judge.”
Moments after Thursday’s thrilling finish, Embiid, back in Philadelphia rehabbing his left knee, took to Twitter to present the following comparison:
Brown praised McConnell for having the “courage and the guts” to make the most of a “broken situation.”
“I had a timeout, and we didn’t want to use it,” Brown explained. “To [McConnell’s] credit, he put pressure on them without a pick-and-roll. It was an isolation, and he was able to score, and ultimately get us a win.”
McConnell was responsible for eight points (4-10 fg), five rebounds, eight assists, and three steals Thursday. He didn’t commit a single turnover in nearly 30 minutes of action.
Although McConnell, the Sixers’ starting point guard, supplied Thursday’s heroics, the final outcome likely wouldn’t have happened without considerable contributions from the team’s reserve corps. The bench accounted for 65 points, an output that became that much more significant given that the Sixers were playing for the second time in as many days.
Back-up power forward Dario Saric enjoyed a career-night, setting a new personal-high with 24 points. The Croatian cranked out 24 points (8-15 fg, 3-5 3fg, 5-6 ft), eight rebounds, and three steals.
“It’s exciting,” Saric said of Thursday’s result. “The whole team gives effort, the whole team tries 100 percent, in every moment on the court, even if it start bad. We believe we can come back, we believe in each other, we make something good because we got like [five] losses in a row. Now we show we can play the basketball, we show this team deserves good things, and I hope we will continue like this.”
“Dario I thought was huge,” said Brown.
With his staple passion and scrap on full display, Saric rose to the occasion with the game hanging in the balance, posting nine of his points in the fourth quarter. Amid one pivotal stretch of the frame, the rookie was single-handedly responsible for scoring seven points in a row, forcing a 98-98 deadlock with less than five minutes to play.
Orlando answered with its own 7-0 spurt, setting itself up for a 109-103 edge with two minutes left. Ilyasova, who collected 16 points, then sunk five consecutive free throws, before Saric pushed the visitors ahead by one, 110-109, on a lay-up with 35.0 seconds showing on the game clock.
“I don’t know, I tried to change something,” Saric said, when discussing his second straight 20-point performance in a post-game interview that aired on the Sixers Radio Network. “Usually, I always sleep before game, but last two games, I didn’t go to sleep afternoon. No nap afternoon. I got two good games. I will try to keep like this.”
Saric punched in 20 points Wednesday versus San Antonio.
Shortly the Sixers took a one-point lead on Saric’s drive, Nik Vucevic responded with a hook shot to flip the score, 111-110, in the Magic’s favor. After the Sixers survived two near-turnovers on the next possession, McConnell clinched the game.
“It just shows we can win with anybody on the court as long as we continue to fight,” said McConnell. He and the Sixers were without Embiid for a seventh game in a row.
In addition to Saric, several other reserves stepped up for the Sixers. Nerlens Noel tallied 10 points (4-6 fg), seven rebounds, and two blocks in 22 minutes. Nik Stauskas delivered another versatile box line, with 13 points (4-8 fg, 2-3 3fg, 3-3 ft), five rebounds, and five dimes.
Sergio Rodriguez was vital to helping the Sixers shake off a bumpy start. He subbed in for McConnell shortly after the team had fallen behind 21-6 midway through the first quarter, and proceeded to launch the Sixers on a 14-5 run to close the period.
The 30-year old Spaniard netted 12 points (4-7 fg), connecting on all four of his 3-point tries. He manufactured five assists and three rebounds, too.
“I don’t think we win without our bench,” McConnell said. “They were unbelievable. I thought our starters struggled, and they came in and picked us up. So all credit to them. They did an unbelievable job.”
The lasting impression Brown was left with Thursday was a complete, collective effort turned in by his group, and on limited rest, taboot.
“They really are a team,” Brown said of the Sixers. “Unlikely people end games, unlikely people at time start games, and different people find ways to help us find wins.
“You feel like you have the privilege and luxury that these guys let me coach them, and you try to find any way you can to steal a win, and sometimes, that’s with unlikely groups on the floor, like tonight.”
The Sixers converted 21 of 27 free throw attempts, and established a pivotal advantage off turnovers, outscoring Orlando in that area 25-11.
The Sixers were missing both Embiid (left knee contusion) and Richaun Holmes (upper respiratory infection) Thursday.
