Despite a great Alex Sarr, the Wizards drop the Sixers

In “back-to-back”, away from home and leading by 19 points, in the middle of the third quarter, Sixers achieved the feat of achieving the fourth success in four matches on the floor of Washington (139-134) after overtime.

The Wizards dominated the first half, thanks to a perfect start by Alex Sarr against Joel Embiid, despite his two quick fouls, and valuable relays by Corey Kispert, Marvin Bagley III and a 2/2 three-pointer by Keyshaun George to turn it into +4 at the break (72-68).

Philly hung on by relying on the aggressive Tyrese Maxey, who started 3/3 on 3-pointers and, for his part, could count on the outside skills of Kelly Oubre Jr. and VJ Edgecombe, while Joel Embiid also did his part.

Tirese McKay and Quentin Grimes sound revolt

The Sixers continued to suffer against the show of Kishon George and the efficiency of the Middleton-Saar tandem, which caused the deficit to increase to +19 in the third quarter (95-76). Buoyed by his outside prowess, Washington still had a 15-length lead with 8 minutes to go (118-103). And it took a small grain of sand to stop the machine.

Tyrese Maxey and Quentin Grimes then started a riot, Philadelphia raised the level of defense against the shaky hands of the locals and managed to catch up. Along with a flawless Tyrese Maxey, two 3-pointers from Quentin Grimes knotted the score at 126-126, sending both teams into overtime.

Washington got the best of them again, jumping to +5 after Alexander Sarr’s three-pointer, but Philadelphia finished much stronger, led by the unsustainable Tyrese Maxey and thanks to the counterattacks and shots of Adem Bona who gave his team the lead with 27 seconds left (131-132).

As a symbol of the Wizards’ poorly executed finish, we will especially remember the ball that Khris Middleton lost on a layup with 6.5 seconds left when his team was down -3. Flawless in free throws, the Maxey-Grimes tandem was able to get the job done and allow the Sixers to remain undefeated.

WHAT TO REMEMBER

– Adem Bona “clutch”! Behind Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond, the Sixers’ center was the decisive “wild card” in the finals, with his two blocks against CJ McCollum and a dunk that put his team back in the lead. With his five blocks, he embodied Philly’s defensive revolt at the end.

– Gala Alec Sarr. We were afraid for him after his first two mistakes in the first minutes of the match. Not only did the Frenchman do perfectly in this handicap, but he did not hesitate to attack Joel Embiid and was aggressive and skillful until the end. He could have been the hero of the match with his 31 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks, especially after the three-pointer in overtime that put Washington in an ideal position…

– Veterans on the streets. If youngsters like Sarr, George or Johnson shined, the same cannot be said for veterans CJ McCollum and Khris Middleton, unfortunately. The impact of the two in “money-time” and in overtime was clearly negative, between Khris Middleton’s game-winning shot late in the fourth quarter, and two blocked attempts by a generally uninspired CJ McCollum.

– Joel Embiid gently. Still under a minutes restriction, the Philly pivot was not yet 100%, and he was wearing a large strap on his left knee. In his prime, he would force Alex Sarr into two fouls at the low post on every possession. He’s coming off 25 points on 3/6 from long range, but he still looks far from being able to give the full measure.

https://vvv.youtube.com/vatch?v=zu2g_9KfgO4