The 76ers were reunited with victory in their visit to Orlando, although they did so suffering more than expected. The Pennsylvania team needed overtime to defeat the bottom team in the East, but ended up winning 114-116. In this way, those of Doc Rivers took their 41st win, tying with the Bucks in a fight for second place in the conference that promises to be the most even.
The good defensive work of the locals greatly complicated the night for the Philadelphia stars, who shone statistically but not so much in efficiency. Joel Embiid, the game’s leading scorer with 35 points, was a poor 9/28 on his shots, and needed his 17 free throws (15/17) to add up. James Harden, for his part, scored 13 of his 26 points from the free kick, again making this a resource with which to survive a night in which he scored only 26.3% of his shots.
More efficient was Tobias Harris, who also reached 26 points but did so with a 55.6% accuracy and appearing at the moment of truth. The forward was in charge of scoring the triple that he put his team ahead with 31 seconds remaining in extra time, thus being the savior of the visitors in the clutch. In regulation time, the 76ers showed real problems in this period, and in fact the overtime was a result of the fact that neither team scored a single basket in the last three minutes of the fourth quarter.
“This is a great victory for us” assured Georges Niang, the best of the second unit with 16 points, trying to value the victory. “I know people will say no because it’s the Orlando Magic, but you have to keep in mind that they beat the Timberwolves the other day, and the Wolves beat Miami right after. That says a lot about how the NBA is.”
For the locals, who were leading by 17 points in the first half, the most outstanding man was Wendell Carter Jr., who finished the match with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Cole Anthony, for his part, was second in scoring with 19, and he did so despite signing a very gray clash. In fact, the point guard only scored 4 of his 12 shots, but two of them were two triples in overtime that really put the 76ers on the ropes, and he even had in his hands the triple at the buzzer that would have made him go from villain to hero during overtime. That attempt, however, was spit out the rim, sending the victory flying to Philadelphia.
(Cover photo: Elsa/Getty Images)