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WASHINGTON -- The Philadelphia 76ers have been playing hard for weeks. Yes, they aren't playing for anything in these final games of the season, but their effort has said otherwise.
Despite riding a 12-game losing streak into a matchup with the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, the Sixers have been playing hard. They were coming oh, so close to winning. They finally broke through at Capital One Arena for a 122-103 win for their first win since March 16 in Dallas.
The Sixers received a career-high 30 points from Jeff Dowtin Jr., 24 points from Lonnie Walker IV while Jared Butler added 13 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Quentin Grimes shook off a terrible start to finish with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists and Adem Bona had 17, nine, and two blocks. Ricky Council IV added 11 and five boards while Colin Castleton added 14 rebounds.
Here are the three biggest takeaways from the win:
As mentioned, the Sixers have been playing hard for weeks. It felt like they were still fighting for a play-in spot rather than just playing out the string in what has been a miserable season. They had chances against postseason bound teams such as Minnesota, Milwaukee, New York, and Miami, but just came up short. They finally broke through for a win against the Wizards and coach Nick Nurse was happy with what he saw.
"Yeah, I mean, I think that again, I said to the guys they’re doing a lot of good things and I think really preparing well and all that kind of stuff," Nurse said after the win. "Nice for them to get some results tonight and play, pretty good. A lot of good individual performances and a lot of kind of chip in role performances, I thought, too, which is good."
Grimes had a miserable start to this contest as he missed his first 10 shots. However, he still had a positive impact on the game by being a presence on the glass and being able to get his teammates involved with his passing. He then got going in the third quarter with 13 points on 4-for-7 shooting and he knocked down three triples. The Sixers needed all of what Grimes brought to the table in order to come out on top.
"I love the 11 rebounds," Nurse said of Grimes. "Again, you guys hear me harping on that all the time, that our guards—I want to see which one of those guys can get in and help us on the glass and he's certainly doing that. Six assists. He got off to a really, really poor start there. I think he gets sometimes like that. He usually will work his way out of those, even from a scoring standpoint, and he kind of did tonight."
It is extremely hard for somebody in Dowtin's position to step in and produce under the circumstances he finds himself. Playing on a two-way deal, Dowtin only has a limited number of games he can play in. He had not played since March 26 so to just immediately step in and produce the way he did was impressive. Especially, to a teammate like Butler who has lived that life of being on a two-way deal and not knowing whether he will be active or not due to the games limit.
"You talk about mental toughness and mental fortitude, and just trying to get in a rhythm as a basketball player, it’s extremely tough," Butler said. "It just takes mental resilience, honestly."
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: 3 biggest takeaways for Sixers in streak snapping win over Wizards
Continue reading...
Despite riding a 12-game losing streak into a matchup with the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, the Sixers have been playing hard. They were coming oh, so close to winning. They finally broke through at Capital One Arena for a 122-103 win for their first win since March 16 in Dallas.
The Sixers received a career-high 30 points from Jeff Dowtin Jr., 24 points from Lonnie Walker IV while Jared Butler added 13 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Quentin Grimes shook off a terrible start to finish with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists and Adem Bona had 17, nine, and two blocks. Ricky Council IV added 11 and five boards while Colin Castleton added 14 rebounds.
Here are the three biggest takeaways from the win:
Finally breaking through
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As mentioned, the Sixers have been playing hard for weeks. It felt like they were still fighting for a play-in spot rather than just playing out the string in what has been a miserable season. They had chances against postseason bound teams such as Minnesota, Milwaukee, New York, and Miami, but just came up short. They finally broke through for a win against the Wizards and coach Nick Nurse was happy with what he saw.
"Yeah, I mean, I think that again, I said to the guys they’re doing a lot of good things and I think really preparing well and all that kind of stuff," Nurse said after the win. "Nice for them to get some results tonight and play, pretty good. A lot of good individual performances and a lot of kind of chip in role performances, I thought, too, which is good."
Grimes contributing in other areas
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Grimes had a miserable start to this contest as he missed his first 10 shots. However, he still had a positive impact on the game by being a presence on the glass and being able to get his teammates involved with his passing. He then got going in the third quarter with 13 points on 4-for-7 shooting and he knocked down three triples. The Sixers needed all of what Grimes brought to the table in order to come out on top.
"I love the 11 rebounds," Nurse said of Grimes. "Again, you guys hear me harping on that all the time, that our guards—I want to see which one of those guys can get in and help us on the glass and he's certainly doing that. Six assists. He got off to a really, really poor start there. I think he gets sometimes like that. He usually will work his way out of those, even from a scoring standpoint, and he kind of did tonight."
Dowtin stepping up
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It is extremely hard for somebody in Dowtin's position to step in and produce under the circumstances he finds himself. Playing on a two-way deal, Dowtin only has a limited number of games he can play in. He had not played since March 26 so to just immediately step in and produce the way he did was impressive. Especially, to a teammate like Butler who has lived that life of being on a two-way deal and not knowing whether he will be active or not due to the games limit.
"You talk about mental toughness and mental fortitude, and just trying to get in a rhythm as a basketball player, it’s extremely tough," Butler said. "It just takes mental resilience, honestly."
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: 3 biggest takeaways for Sixers in streak snapping win over Wizards
Continue reading...
