By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)
As Michael Corleone might say if he were a Sixers fan, just when you think you’re out, they pull you back in. After a historic collapse against Memphis and tepid efforts in losses to Boston and Charlotte, I couldn’t blame anyone for being less than enthused about a Sixers-Magic Sunday night affair. With the Sixers only having 9 healthy players to send out there (meaning the frightening return of JaKarr Sampson: NBA Starter), it looked like more of the same when Orlando opened up an 11-point lead midway through the third quarter.
However, there was a plot twist in this story, as once down double digits, the Sixers immediately went on a 14-2 to regain the lead, and kept building things from there in what turned out to be their third victory of the season. If you squinted hard enough, you could begin to see what Sam Hinkie envisions for this team in the future: a bunch of long-armed menaces terrorizing opponents on the defensive end and running the court for easy buckets in transition. As Malik Rose put it on the broadcast, they were swarming like ‘bees to honey’. On a day the Eagles were eliminated from playoff contention, it was the perfect time for the Sixers to reintroduce themselves to the Philadelphia sports scene.
A number of Sixers played a significant role in the victory, with Michael Carter-Williams leading the way with 21 points on 7-12 shooting. MCW struggled taking care of the basketball (6 turnovers), but was very judicious in getting his points, utilizing the mid-lane floater and doing a nice job shielding Elfrid Payton with his body on drives and using his size to finish over the smaller point guard. With Payton going 0-7 from the floor, I’m sure Carter-Williams felt great about outplaying the guy Sixers fans thought was replacing him for about 10 minutes on draft night.
The Sixers big man tandem of Nerlens Noel and Henry Sims backed up their point guard with strong efforts on both ends. Noel recorded his fourth career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, with all his field goals coming right at the basket off feeds from the guards or rebound putbacks. On nights the rookie is this active on the glass, it’s great that he can just let things come to him on the offensive end. Henry Sims joined Noel in the double-double department with 12 points and 12 rebounds, and even flushed a one-handed jam in transition that was about as high as I’ve seen him lift off the ground.
The off-the-court story of the night was the presence of K.J. McDaniels’ mom in the Orlando crowd. After making minor waves on twitter last month for calling the Sixers disgraceful for tanking and screwing over her son, it was clear her opinions haven’t changed much since then. Mama McDaniels was sitting a few rows behind the Sixers bench, and would yell ‘Don’t Pass the Ball’ whenever K.J. had it, and occasionally boo if another Sixer besides K.J. scored while he was on the court. Arena security tried to escort her away until a Sixers ticket rep cleared things up that she was actually given the ticket through the team. She eventually moved five rows back and fans came over to take photos with her the rest of the night.
Her son didn’t have his best night, as he was limited by foul trouble for much of the evening, but he was a key part of the Sixers’ third-quarter run, and earlier managed something for the obligatory K.J. McDaniels highlight of the night:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6iA9oXCg2k]
The Sixers take on Miami Tuesday night, who will be playing without Chris Bosh and possibly without Dwyane Wade. The Sixers have won three of their past five road games. Could their first winning streak of the season be an early Christmas gift for fans across the tri-state area? We’ll find out then.
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