3 observations after McCain, Yabusele come up huge in Sixers’ second OT win

3 observations after McCain, Yabusele come up huge in Sixers’ second OT win originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers rode tremendous performances from rookie Jared McCain and makeshift backup center Guerschon Yabusele to their second victory of the season Sunday night.

McCain poured in 27 points on 10-for-18 shooting, Yabusele posted 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting and the Sixers pulled out a 107-105 overtime win at Wells Fargo Center over the Hornets.

They improved to 2-7 on the season and Charlotte dropped to 4-6.

In his home Sixers debut, Paul George had 15 points (6 for 18 from the field) and nine assists.

Hornets star LaMelo Ball tallied 38 points and eight assists.

The Sixers remained without Joel Embiid (suspension) and Tyrese Maxey (right hamstring strain). Embiid is expected to play his first game of the season Tuesday night vs. the Knicks.

Here are observations on the Sixers’ second overtime win of the year:

George finds some flow early

George was in the middle of everything at the start of his home Sixers debut.

He came up short on an opening-play three-point try, then drove in strongly for a layup on the Sixers’ next trip.

About four minutes in, George was down on the floor in the right corner after appearing to take an inadvertent hit to the face from Hornets rookie Tidjane Salaun. He was visibly shaken up, but George eventually rose to his feet, walked to the bench and remained in the game.

As the first quarter wore on, George gained rhythm and looked more self-assured. George’s minutes had been limited the past three games since his return from a left knee bone bruise, which meant less opportunity to find sustained flow. Nick Nurse said pregame George had recently discussed that challenge with him. On Sunday, the Sixers’ head coach played George nearly 10 straight minutes to begin the night.

Nurse directed Yabusele to the opposite corner of George at one point to ensure the nine-time All-Star had space to post up Hornets shooting guard Josh Green. George drained a pretty fadeaway jumper. He then fed a rolling Yabusele for a layup.

George finished with 33 minutes Sunday and sat out…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/3-observations-mccain-yabusele-come-031352480.html

Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia

Publish date : 2024-11-11 03:25:00

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