The Philadelphia 76ers picked up a big road win over the Orlando Magic. It marks their first win of the season without Joel Embiid. The main reason for the Sixers' win was Tyrese Maxey's strong performance but plenty of other guys stepped up to help deliver the 112-92 win.
In his postgame presser, Nick Nurse pointed out the performances of Tobias Harris, De'Anthony Melton and Marcus Morris Sr. The Sixers' veterans all had their moments at different points in the game.
“I thought he played really at a good tempo tonight,” Nurse said of Harris. “I thought he really went when it was there. He held up and kinda played with good rhythm when it wasn't and got to spots where he wanted to get.”
Harris shot just 10-23 from the field but ended up with 22 points, seven rebounds and two assists. He got to the rim a lot, though he didn’t shoot very well from there and was only 1-5 from deep. Even though this game wasn’t much to write home to, it continued a very promising stretch of games for Harris, who scored at least 20 for the third straight game.
“Melt, obviously, we take that 4-7 every night from three,” Nurse said. “I think he's a really good shooter. And he needs to make some threes for us 'cause I think he's had good looks this year.”
Melton scored 22 points on 8-13 points to go along with five rebounds and two steals. The Sixers' guard shot the ball very well at the rim and from deep, exemplifying how and analytically influenced shot chart can produce great results. He started Philly's fast breaks with strong defense and finished off a few of them, too.
“You talked about Tyrese already but also Marcus Morris kind of kept the scoreboard moving for a stretch there in the second [quarter], which was, that's kind of what he can do,” Nurse said. “Like we can get him the ball and he can look 'em in the eye and hit those jumpers and he kind of kept it moving there for a while, which was good.”
Morris had 14 points on 6-14 shooting, doing a nice job as the screener for Maxey and looking for his own shot if he got the ball back. This was one of Morris' rare games where he didn’t make a three but he got into the paint and connected on a variety of shots.
The Sixers may still have to play without Embiid for a few games. It's a storm they can weather if they get well-rounded contributions like in this game.
Follow Us
Subscribe