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Sixers “trust” their way to a huge win

Tony Cutillo|

This may be the only time the focus is off of our young horses with a concentration on the battle of the minds. Those minds being Brett Brown vs. Gregg Popovich. No matter the record or divisional standing, the San Antonio Spurs always are a sizable opponent who will take you to the brink.

Well, Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center was no different. When it certainly looked like the Sixers were going to come up short because of a cold spell that consistently hits this team in the fourth quarter, they kicked their tires and put it into fifth gear to squeak out a victory. The Spurs had their chances, but couldn’t overtake the energy of this young team who is just starting to find their stride. In the final stretch, the Sixers had an unfortunate shot-clock violation, but DeMar DeRozan had his shot blocked by Wilson Chandler.

Corey Brewer, who has been an energy-driven enigma, gave the Sixers a 122-120 lead with 1.1 seconds left by going 1-for-2 at the charity stripe. It all came down to one last possession, but Ben Simmons wasn’t having any of San Antonio’s late-game heroics. On their last hope, Simmons broke up an inbounds pass headed for former Sixer Marco Belinelli to send the crowd home with a smile. In the words of the young budding star, “We are learning to trust each other.”

Now onto some fun stuff and interesting tidbits:

The Sixers are starting to attract several sports and entertainment figure with their prime time game slots. Rapper Biz Markie was in the house, and Phillies manager Gabe Kapler and players Aaron Nola and Rhys Hoskins rang the ceremonial bell.

If that wasn’t enough, former Spur David “The Admiral” Robinson spent several minutes signing autographs for Sixers fans. Oh, and our very own Sean Brace was in the building hawking Kapler for his tanning secrets, but his bodyguards wouldn’t get the man close enough to see. Good try, Brace. However, while Kapler was busy under the strobe light, our founder caught up with ESPN’s Israel Gutierrez for a few questions on the Sixers.

The young phenom lit up the stat board once again… Simmons had 21 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds for his eighth (!) triple-double of the season.

Speaking of young phenoms, who is this Landry Shamet we speak of!? The labels have worn off and the guy is proving he belongs on the court.

Joel Embiid (33 pts, 19 rebs) looks to be gaining some skills as a soccer player. Anyone need a goalie?

 

JJ shows off his own step-over three-point stroke.

 

Even the dogs showed how to play small ball at halftime.

 

The night wouldn’t be complete with out some “flossing” by the Sixers self-proclaimed dance squad.

Sidebar:

The Spurs held their shootaround at Philadelphia’s Palestra, the historic gym known as the basketball cathedral on Penn’s campus.

“This is what you’re supposed to feel like when you play basketball,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “All these other arenas that we’re all in, they don’t do anything to your spirit. They don’t make you feel anything. You don’t fall in love.”

The Sixers are showing the NBA they cannot be taken lightly as they are every bit capable of taking that next step. #HereTheyCome

 

As always you can stop by my Facebook page (FantasySportsAddiction) or tweet me (@TCutillo23) for questions or some nice fantasy debates. E-mail me at [email protected]. You can listen to The Heat Ratio (@TheHeatRatio) podcast every Wednesday at 12 P.M. on Wildfire Radio, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts here.

I can also be heard weekly via the internet stream live at WengRadio every Monday at 4:00pm EST for a weekend sports wrap. But most importantly, you can catch me here at Pi!

For fantasy purposes, all my articles are predicated upon a PPR-based system.

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