Adrian Fedkiw
Joel Embiid was the first one off the bench to wrap his arm around Robert Covington’s shoulder. The shot was deep, it was contested and might’ve been ill-advised, but it went in.
Take that you Covington haters!
Covington knocked down a go-ahead 3-pointer from the left wing with 4.5 seconds left to lift Philadelphia 76ers to their eighth win in their last 10 games as they edged the Portland Trail Blazers 93-92 Friday night at Wells Fargo Center.
Covington, who is posting career lows in field-goal percentage (.365) and 3-point shooting (.297), has been smattered by boos all season long, but he just recorded his second game-winner in less than a month. Damian Lillard split a pair of foul shots prior to Covington’s dagger.
DEEP go-ahead triple from Covington to put the Sixers in front with 4.5 ticks left, WOW! @AdrianFedkiw pic.twitter.com/esdkbqF2OX
— Philly Influencer (@PHL_Influencer) January 21, 2017
Covington also recorded this game-winner against the Minnesota Timberwolves when he layed in Dario Saric’s inbounds pass with 0.2 ticks remaining.
Embiid with the screen, Dario with the pass and Covington with the finish to win it!!! @AdrianFedkiw pic.twitter.com/BOzk7nAUNd
— Philly Influencer (@PHL_Influencer) January 4, 2017
Nerlens Noel played outstanding defense on Portland’s final possession, contesting Marshall Plumlee’s top of the key drive and layup attempt at the buzzer.
Fantastic defense from Noel and the Sixers win!!! @AdrianFedkiw pic.twitter.com/uYt4mYtAya
— Philly Influencer (@PHL_Influencer) January 21, 2017
The frenetic final minute took away some of the attention away from Embiid’s left knee contusion. He initially exited the game midway through the third quarter following a right wing drive and dunk, then came back and left again when he put through a left-handed scoop layup and landed gingerly again.
Crazy swing of emotions. Emphatic dunk was sweet, then heart was in throat when he was on floor, then he jogs back to locker room. I'm good pic.twitter.com/TtTGZjvuam
— Philly Influencer (@PHL_Influencer) January 21, 2017
Embiid, who had his 10-game streak of scoring 20-plus points snapped, still finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four blocks for Philadelphia, which improved to 15-26 on the season and are three games behind the Chicago Bulls in the loss column for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race. It is 4 1/2 games back overall.
Ersan Ilyasova led the Sixers with 24 points, going 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, while Covington netted 22.