By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)
Philadelphia 96, New Orleans 81 – Box Score
As the old saying goes, pride goeth before a fall. For weeks now, teams have been circling a date with Philadelphia as an opportunity to rest their starters. After all, it’s only the Sixers. What could go wrong? Well as the Pelicans learned Friday night, plenty. Despite New Orleans entering play just 2.5 games out of the 8th seed, they sat both Anthony Davis (sprained toe) and Jrue Holiday (ankle injury). Granted, they weren’t held out purely for rest purposes (Holiday even sat out Wednesday as well), but something tells me if they were facing the Grizzlies, New Orleans would have been all hands on deck. The Pelicans surely could have used one of the league’s most dominant players and their top two defenders, because the Sixers came to play with their best performance of the season.
It was clear from the get-go that it was going to be a good night for the Sixers. An 11-0 run in the first quarter helped open up a 22-6 lead. They tied the most points in a first quarter this season with 33, playing the type of smart, unselfish basketball coaches and fans alike have been waiting to see all season. Throughout the game, the ball movement on the offensive end was positively Spursian, featuring plays like K.J. McDaniels passing up a wide-open three to find Robert Covington under the rim at the last second for an easy hoop.
Most crucially, the Sixers did an outstanding job taking care of the basketball. They turned the ball over just twice in the first half (10 times on the game), and went almost 23 minutes of game time without recording a turnover. That stretch helped them pull away in the third quarter, as Philly went on a 14-0 run to suck the life out of the Pelicans and essentially pull away for good. The Sixers would build their largest lead of the season at 19 points, and the 15 points also represented their largest margin of victory on the year.
Perhaps more important than how the Sixers won was who led them to victory. as Nerlens Noel and Michael Carter-Williams had their best collective effort since Noel’s return to the hardwood. The Sixers center finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and tied a career-high with 5 blocks, ensuring fans saw at least one dominant performance from a former Kentucky big man on the night.
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Noel continues to display much more aggressiveness attacking the rim; he used to look tentative even going up for a dunk near the basket, but now has multiple put-back slams per game. He also showed off a nice hook shot in the post, and flashed those quick hands defending on the perimeter to poke away a couple steals. Noel was all over the court, and encouragingly, these types of games are becoming more and more common.
Right there alongside his old AAU teammate was Michael Carter-Williams, who followed up his season-high 29 points with a game-high 22 points. The rejuvenated point guard shot 9-19 from the field, adding 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Not only did he display great court vision throughout the game, but he collected his points in a variety of ways. On back-to-back possessions, MCW pulled off a couple of post moves on Jimmer Fredette and and Quincy Pondexter for finishes at the rim. It’s certainly a part of his game the 6’6″ point guard should be able to take advantage of on most nights.
With the two guys being played up as franchise cornerstones living up to the billing for at least one evening, it was a fun night to be a Sixers fan. The team has now won 4 of its last 7 games, hopefully squashing the last of the media hot takes about them disgracing the game. They’re right back in action Saturday night, looking to knock off a Pistons team that’s won 9 of its last 11 games. Something tells me Detroit won’t be sitting anyone for that contest.
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