Adrian Fedkiw
No Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid battling a cold … enter T.J. McConnell and J.J. Redick to pick up the slack.
McConnell dished out 13 assists, Redick knocked down eight 3-pointers and the Philadelphia 76ers cruised past the Orlando Magic 130-111 on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Center.
The energetic bulldog McConnell was penetrating into the paint with ease and finding open teammates all night. This was a beautiful drive from the right wing, spinning into the lane before kicking it out to Robert Covington for the triple.
Nice spin by McConnell and dish to RoCo pic.twitter.com/RO7kQ7ZukC
— Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) November 26, 2017
McConnell continually finds ways to contribute despite being essentially relegated to fourth point guard duties during the preseason behind Simmons, who missed the game with a minor elbow injury, Markelle Fultz and Jerryd Bayless. The Arizona product, however, has taken advantage of the minutes opened up from Fultz’s absence and has outplayed Bayless. McConnell also scored 15 points, pulled down seven rebounds and recorded three steals.
Redick netted 29 points and was 8-of-12 from beyond the arc.
Redick hits back-to-back 3's pic.twitter.com/AaTWkpg8hH
— Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) November 26, 2017
Embiid posted 18 points, 14 boards and six assists despite a slow opening quarter which saw him score just two points on 1-of-5 shooting. He finished 7-of-17 overall from the floor. Dario Saric added 21 points and seven rebounds.
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