Now, suddenly, they can’t lose. He looks like the most complete center we’ve had in this league for a very long time.
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It wasn’t an easy path to victory, however, as the Sixers trailed for most of the first half all the way up until halftime. In the second half of the Raptors game, Saric had two consecutive blocked shots including one against Raptors power forward Jared Sullinger. No other team in the league has done it that often. And he came through in the clutch, as he was a force in the paint all night.
But the emotions of the fans weren’t done as Robert Covington hit a three-pointer with 4.5 seconds remaining to give the Sixers a thrilling 93-92 win.
The two teams square off Friday night in Philadelphia.
Notably, Brett Brown didn’t call a timeout to draw up a play for his offense, similarly to the approach the team took in their buzzer-beater win against the New York Knicks. “Some of it’s luck”. “We’re just going to keep on getting better”.
“These guys are fun”, said Embiid, who was the first person off the bench to celebrate with Covington. “I’m great. The knee’s fine. I’m glad we’re winning games for them, (and) we’re doing good for the city”.
He said he lobbied to return to the game, to no avail. “And he’s been able to talk to the team because they respect his ability to play defense”. They then stopped an attempted layup from Mason Plumlee to close the game. “I’m not going to let that deteriorate my game”. The Blazers are entering the contest with 7 wins and 17 losses on the road.
“There were a lot of options on the play”, Plumlee said of the final possession. “We’re all kind of starving for some success, starving for good feelings and some wins”.
Brown said he was really impressed with Dario Saric’s commitment to contribute on the defensive end. Embiid opened his arms wide and raised them high in the air as fans went wild. “This one’s on me”.
The 89 points by the Raptors was the second lowest output of the year, second to only the 82 they scored in San Antonio. By the break, the Blazers’ cushion was 56-43 and Lillard had 20 points. McCollum is averaging 23.4 points on a 48% shooting from the field, while pulling down 3.5 boards and dishing out 3.7 assists per game. Also, removing the top three protection from the draft pick that Philadelphia owns could cost Los Angeles a future star (based on their current record, the Lakers would have the No. 3 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft). But go back to Andrew Bynum, who never suited up for the Sixers. On the road, Portland is allowing 112.8 points per game.
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Embiid will still have the opportunity to make it to the All-Star Game as a reserve player. According to Stein, adding Williams’ salary to their balance sheet means the Sixers are now $2.2 million closer to the salary floor. Randle said it was “a sigh of relief” when he learned he would be retained. “I knew it was OK”. Portland F Ed Davis returned after missing Wednesday’s loss in Charlotte with a sprained left ankle. He had eight points and three rebounds in 13 minutes 50 seconds of playing time.
