Nothing has been easy for the Sixers since the start of the season, and this painful victory is one more. For the first of Paul George at home, Philadelphia needed an overtime to snatch the victory (107-105), with precious relays from Guerschon Yabusele and Jared McCain in order to defeat a Charlotte team nevertheless deprived of Miles Bridges and of his Richards-Williams pair at post 5.
Both teams struggled in the first half before getting going. On the Charlotte side, there was the great start of LaMelo Ball then the two dunks of Frenchies Tidjane Salaün and Moussa Diabaté. The 3-pointers of Seth Curry and Grant Williams (twice) combined with the 2+1 of Brandon Miller then helped to keep Charlotte in the lead, which was a bit of a task for the locals (32-38). It therefore took a good pass from Guerschon Yabusele then three baskets in a row from Kelly Oubre to save the honor of the Sixers at the break (46-45).
The “Dancing Bear” does damage
A “run” which had the merit of waking up Nick Nurse’s men a little, notably with a more enterprising Paul George, to find Kyle Lowry or Guerschon Yabusele or to score. In a few moments, Philly took off under his leadership with two new 3-pointers from the “Dancing Bear” on two PG8 serves (66-58). Jared McCain took over by scoring four baskets in a row to allow the locals to finish the third act at +10 (76-66).
The gap quickly increased to +16 thanks to the McCain-Dowtin pair (82-66) less than ten minutes from time. What encourage the Sixers to release the pressure? In any case, the Hornets were quick to take advantage, carried by a LaMelo Ball on cloud nine. The Charlotte leader continued the decisive actions, punctuating his festival with three 3-point baskets to complete a 17-2 in less than four minutes to bring his team to a small point (84-83)!
To come to the aid of LaMelo Ball and counter the 3-pointers of Jared McCain and Caleb Martin, it was Brandon Miller who took over by scoring 7 points in a row when Charlotte was on the verge of breaking (94-92 ). Still alive after a missed free throw from Kyle Lowry, Charles Lee then put the destiny of his team in the hands of LaMelo Ball, who responded by scoring a 3-pointer to extend the pleasure for five minutes, Paul George missing his last attempt, at 3-points (97-97).
In a disjointed overtime, it was ultimately Philadelphia who won, the Lowry-Martin-Oubre trio having kept their cool until the end to secure the free throw, where Charlotte may regret the management of its last possessions (107-105).
WHAT TO REMEMBER
Guerschon Yabusele, hero in spite of himself. The enthusiasm, intensity and accuracy of the Frenchman were a pleasure to see in a match which took a long time to get going. His mason screens opened gaps every time, and his relationship with Paul George also gave rise to some of the best offensive sequences on the Philly side. Skillful from afar, the “Dancing Bear” also took advantage of the lack of size inside on the Charlotte side to impose his power. Author of 12 of his 20 points in the third quarter, he could have been the hero of the match if he had used his last two shots to seal the fate of the match. Fortunately for him, Caleb Martin took the rebound and secured the shot in stride.
A mixed debut for Paul George. The winger was taking his first steps at the Wells Fargo Center and his performance was therefore scrutinized by the local fans, whose demands are well known. After an encouraging first half, PG took control of the match in the third quarter by influencing the game with scoring and fair passes. His end of the match was less glorious, since he missed the shot that could have avoided overtime, all to finish at 6/18 shooting for 15 points, which his 9 assists compensated for.
LaMelo Ball impresses. When little brother Ball is unleashed, that's something! The Hornets leader shone in sequences, but we will especially remember his end of the fourth quarter, with 10 minutes where he literally walked on water to bring his team back from a 16-point deficit, almost single-handedly. What's incredible about him is that his room for improvement remains considerable. Even if he lit up the game with his 38 points, he can be more consistent over 48 minutes, improve his shot selection and lose fewer balls. His last action is also questionable, when he seemed to have found the right drive to get two points while the score showed 105-104 for the Sixers with less than ten seconds remaining. But no, LaMelo Ball preferred to go out for Brandon Miller, who was, certainly, open to 3-points, but missed his attempt, perhaps even surprised to have received the ball when two easy points were available to him. leader. Enigmatic to the end, the LaMelo…
Kyle Lowry for the story. The veteran Sixers point guard entered the top 20 passers in league history in the third quarter, when he found Paul George at 3-point. With 7,037 assists, he overtook a certain Tony Parker, who until then occupied 20th place with 7,036 assists.
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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.
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