76ERS 109, Smith, Holmes make winning TIMBERWOLVES 99 look elementary for Sixers
PHILADELPHIA >> It might have required a heaping dose of defeat, but the 76ers are finally starting to round into a competent (and winning) basketball team.
Their locker room even sounded like that of one, with music thumping through a sound system, as the Sixers celebrated a 109-99 victory over Minnesota. Bench scoring, the strong play of Ish Smith, and a big fourthquarter spurt propelled the Sixers to their third win in six games.
The Sixers (4-33) went on a 16-5 run over a stretch of six minutes and change midway through the fourth quarter to pull away from the Timberwolves (12-23).
Smith led all scorers with a double-double of 21 points and 11 assists, and Richaun Holmes (17 points, 7-for-10 shooting) and Carl Landry (16 points, 8-for-11) were impactful off the bench. Overall, the bench supplied 61 points and played to a +49.
Forget individual performances, said Sixers coach Brett Brown. He wanted to call attention to his team’s effort in taking down Minnesota.
“Everybody should recognize (Jahlil Okafor) did not play in that fourth period,” Brown said. “Then he’s off the bench and he’s swinging a towel. That’s a team. I don’t play Isaiah Canaan at all in the first half, then he goes whack and hits a 3 in the corner. That’s a team. Carl probably played more minutes than our doctors would’ve wished, but he made shots. That’s a team. This is confirmation that we’re doing OK.”
The Sixers’ fourth-quarter push started with a bucket from T.J. McConnell at 9:27 to snap an 87all tie. Then Holmes hammered in a putback dunk off a missed 3-pointer from Canaan, prompting a timeout from Minnesota. Holmes walked right down the lane, off a pick-and-roll with Canaan, and got to the rim untouched to extend the Sixers’ lead to 93-89.
It was just one of many highlight-reel moments on the night for Holmes, who came across the lane for a weakside block on Minnesota big man Karl-Anthony Towns late in the fourth.
“I mean, either way, whether I score or not, my thing is to come in and bring energy. That’s on defense, offense, whatever it takes. My job is pretty simple,” said Holmes, the second-round pick out of Bowling Green.
The Sixers’ spurt, capped with consecutive buckets from Smith, Nerlens Noel, and Landry, broke open a game that featured 21 lead changes and gave them a 10392 lead with 3:30 to play.
Smith is averaging 14.7 points and 8.2 assists in the six games since a landing with the Sixers via trade Dec. 24. He looks like he fits the part with this youthful group, said Brown.
“I think we have such a young team that his personality pairs up with their youthful spirit a lot,” Brown said of Smith. “He can get those guys wound up, and they follow his charisma. He’s got big energy. He’s got bounce.”
Smith summed up his night this way: “Sometimes you have to throw it to the big fella over there (Holmes) and get out the way.”
The rematch between the Sixers’ Jahlil Okafor and the Timberwolves’ Towns was expected to take top billing, but it fizzled. Okafor took it to Towns early in the third quarter, though, backing down Towns at the left elbow before uncorking a dazzling left spin move that left Towns in a daze. Okafor hit the ensuing layup and drew the foul on Towns, the top pick in last summer’s draft, then posed on the baseline while flexing his biceps. The bucket gave the Sixers a 58-57 lead at the 8:07 mark of the third.
Less than two minutes later, Okafor collected a pass from Smith at nearly the same spot on the floor. Okafor took two dribbles before throwing down a ridiculous right-handed dunk.
The good news for the Sixers was that they entered the fourth quarter with a lead, 80-79. Their only prior wins had come when they were ahead after three quarters. Perhaps it was a harbinger for what was to come.
“It was a good win for as a team,” Smith said.
The Sixers don’t look anywhere near the team that lost 18 straight games to open the season. They’re 3-3 since
us
THUMBS UP
■ Ish Smith continues ■ Richaun Holmes making his mark.
THUMBS DOWN
to
impress. ■ Zach LaVine can jump out of the building, but doesn’t do much else. ■ A rare night in which Jerami Grant was a non-factor. opening the season 1-30, after which they acquired Smith.
But with Towns and shooting guard Andrew Wiggins, the Timberwolves have two promising stars around whom to build. And that’s probably why Brown before the game said Minnesota is “ahead of us” in regard to their rebuilding phase.
“Not saying light years, but they’re way ahead of us when it comes to their roster, and their depth and their experience,” Brown said. “They designed their program well. I hear Karl-Anthony speak. I hear Andrew speak. They’re articulate, well-spoken studs. … You sprinkle in some other young guys along with those veterans and those legitimate, potential superstars, and their program is solid and moving in the right direction.”
On this night, however, the Sixers looked like they were in lockstep with the Timberwolves.