The efforts of an entire group to compensate for the absence of Joel Embiid ended up paying off. During the reception in Sacramento, Philadelphia managed to end its series of three defeats by dominating its subject, with a Maxey-Harris tandem which was able to hold on until the end. Tobias Harris even finished two points short of his career record with 37 units!
To give themselves the best chance of winning, the Sixers imposed a high pace from the start. Nicolas Batum and Tyrese Maxey set the tone with two first 3-point shots, before receiving a welcome relay from an also very aggressive Tobias Harris. The winger started his match with two “and-ones” including a dunk with the foul, before actively participating in the 11-3 concluded by Pat Beverley at the end of the first quarter (29-19).
A very precious Nicolas Batum
But it was in the second quarter that Nick Nurse's troops made the difference, with notable passages from the Bamba-Reed pair to help an inspired Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris stay the course, without forgetting Nicolas Batum. The Frenchman was also valuable since he was the big player in a 10-0 with an alley-oop and two 3-point baskets to add to the bill for the Kings and offer his team the biggest gap of the match (58-36).
Still +19 at the break despite 3-pointers from De'Aaron Fox and Keegan Murray at the end of the period (65-46), Philadelphia had to grit its teeth to preserve the gap during a third quarter decisive, or Sacramento tried everything to stay alive. The good start to the half by the Melton-Harris-Batum triplet was not enough to calm the enthusiasm of the Kings of the Fox-Sabonis axis. Malik Monk also played a big role in the 8-2 which allowed the Californians to return to -12 at the end of the third quarter (85-73).
Under pressure, the Sixers then managed to stay the course, in the wake of an irresistible Tobias Harris, passing a 9-2 from the start of the last act to regain the lead (96-75). We quickly understood afterwards that nothing could happen to this Philadelphia team, especially when Mo Bamba then Furkan Korkmaz, after an incredible rebound of the ball on the circle, scored 3-points to ensure a comfortable victory ( 112-93).
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Nick Nurse’s victory. It's been a week since the Sixers have been considerably weakened with the absences of Joel Embiid but also Tobias Harris and De'Anthony Melton. Every time he had the opportunity, the Philly coach insisted that his group should not pose as victims and approach each match to win it, regardless of the able-bodied players. Even if the return of the Melton-Harris tandem did the greatest good, the Sixers could have suffered from the absence of Joel Embiid, particularly against a player like Domantas Sabonis. But the coach's speech was heard and each player was able to raise their level of play to dominate the match and allow Philly to return to victory. We obviously think of Paul Reed and Mo Bamba who managed to hold on at post 5, but we can also mention Nicolas Batum who excelled as evidenced by his 4/4 from afar.
– Tobias Harris puts on the show. The winger did it again! Coming out of a 32-point match against Atlanta, “Tobi” pulled out all the stops again by mixing aggression near the circle, opportunism and skill from afar to compile 37 points, thus failing two small units of his career record. He was one of the main architects who helped to make the difference, at the start of the match and then before the break. He was also valuable at the start of the fourth quarter to finish off the Kings' last hopes. The crowd demanded that he be given the ball at the end of the match, shouting “Tobi, Tobi” but his 3-point attempt to set a new career record failed to hit the target.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
