76ers pull off a crucial win
The Philadelphia 76ers had no intentions of playing overtime basketball on Sunday evening in San Antonio against the Spurs as they were set to hop on a plane immediately after the game to fly to Chicago. The 76ers were set to take on the Bulls on Monday evening and were hoping to avoid a long night at the office in Texas.
However, despite dominating for the majority of the game the visitors were forced into overtime when Joel Embiid missed a fade away jumper to win the game at the end of regulation time. Fortunately for Philadelphia though, he came up with big at the end of overtime with the help of a Ben Simmons’ tip to ensure the 76ers left Texas with the victory.
“I knew Joel was going to get a good look,” Simmons said following the contest, via ESPN. “We trust him with those shots. I was just there to clean it up.”
While Embiid led all players with 34 points and 12 rebounds on the night, Seth Curry helped out with an impressive 22 points on the night as well.
“We haven’t been in this situation in a while as a full team,” Curry said. “So, it’s stuff we can look at. Coaches can look at the film and figure some stuff for us down the line.”
The victory coupled with a Brooklyn Nets loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday evening puts the 76ers back into first place in the competitive Eastern Conference. They have a stellar 43-21 record as they look to clinch home court advantage throughout the postseason.
While the Spurs were missing four starters on Sunday night, Philadelphia opted to go with a full squad despite playing the first night of a back-to-back. When asked about it following the game, Philadelphia head coach Doc Rivers discussed the factors that went into his decision.
“Just our health,” Rivers told reporters, via ESPN. “We want to keep guys healthy at the end of the day. We want to win games. We want to get them the proper amount of rest. We obviously have a plan on what we want to do, and so we’ll follow it. We’re not going to look at the standings or anything like that to decide what we’re going to do; I can say that.”
Philadelphia has no time to look back and celebrate their victory though as they take on the Chicago Bulls on Monday evening at the United Center. The Bulls sit in 12th place and well out of a playoff spot, but are capable of providing a difficult challenge to any opponent on any given night – especially on home court.
It remains to be seen whether Rivers will go with a full strength lineup again on Monday or if he elects to rest some key starters after a tough night in San Antonio. Last time the 76ers had a back-to-back, Embiid featured in the first game against the Minnesota Timberwolves but was rested in the second game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
