Down 17 points in the first quarter of their 13th game, with boos echoing through Xfinity Mobile Arena and a shorthanded Toronto Raptors team running wild, the Sixers looked like they were heading for one of *those* nights. This was a Raptors squad on the second half of a back-to-back, playing without their two best players, Scottie Barnes and Kawhi Leonard. Toronto’s LeBron James even sat this one out, officially for “low back/sciatica management”,though everyone knows that’s code for “DNP-OLD,” like Tim Duncan used to get. Just days after Boston smacked the Sixers around in what was supposed to be the Jaylen Brown Revenge Game, the energy was just… off.
Coach Nurse Demanded a Spark
When Nick Nurse called a timeout with 2:40 left in the first, his team already down 32-16, his thoughts were pure and simple. He just wanted his players to “play well.” He saw everyone “searching for a rhythm” or trying to “shake something off from the last game or whatever.” Moments later, they were down 17. The potential for a complete meltdown was right there, staring them down. But that’s when they found it, that hidden gear, that inner fire. They manufactured their own energy.
The Bench Mob Said “Not Today!”
And who led the charge? It was a collective effort, a real gut check. Reserves Anfernee Simons and Jabari Walker tapped into their past experiences on some “wretched Portland teams” for inspiration. VJ Edgecombe looked forward, thinking about a potential spot in the NBA slam-dunk contest. Tyrese Maxey, though, found his motivation by simply glancing over to the sideline at his infant daughter. Joel Embiid, who limped off in the first quarter after bumping knees with a Raptor, returned to the game and finished strong. The bench brigade,Simons, Walker, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope,absolutely went off, dropping a combined 37 points, including a scorching 9-for-12 from beyond the arc. Edgecombe had a Swiss Army Knife kind of night, racking up 15 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, three steals, and a block.
Simons, after going 5-for-6 from deep and scoring 17, explained his mentality. “You learn once you’re coming off the bench to kind of read the game before you get in there,” he said. What he read before checking in at that crucial first-quarter timeout was, in his words, “straight out of the Stephen King collection.” So, his mission was clear: “bring some energy and some life to the team.” And he delivered the night’s first thunderbolt, draining a three-pointer at the first-period buzzer. Maxey finished the game with 27 points, Embiid with 20. The final score? A huge 123-112 Sixers victory. What a turnaround, right? When the chips were down, this team found its spirit and stomped all over the bad vibes.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Liberty Ballers.
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