Best Win of the Season
The Sixers' incredible double-overtime W in San Antonio may not end up meaning much in practical terms, but in spiritual terms it could be everything.
The Sixers needed to win that game.
I know they're still likely bound for the play-in, and may still even have to travel to Miami for it if the Heat win out or we drop one more. I know we're not supposed to fear the play-in game anyway -- that according to us, Miami should feel grateful to have only lost by four in our last matchup -- and that even if we end up in the eighth seed, screw it, bring on Boston and we'll take our chances in Beantown with a healthy Joel Embiid. And I know that it's just the Spurs, and that we still had (nearly) every excuse in the world to come up short against them Sunday night in San Antonio, with our lineup down somewhere between three and six starters, with Victor Wembanyama looking terrifyingly ahead of schedule, with Tyrese Maxey running on his fumes' fumes and with the Spurs apparently having way more Every Goddamn Shot makers than I previously realized.
I don't care. They needed to win that game. And hey good news: THEY FUCKING DID. Just two weeks after Bitchgate and the Evan Mobley three, they pulled out a jaws-of-defeat win every bit as inspiring as those two were deflating. Who could've possibly seen that shit coming??
It was the best win of the Sixers' season. Possibly some recency bias talking there, sure -- I'm writing this within about a half-hour of Tyrese victory-yawping all over the AT&T Center floor, and there's stiff competition to be found this season from the Fly the Process win over the Clippers, the insane 79-73 win in New York without either Embiid or Maxey, and of course, Jo's 70-point outing against these very Spurs back in January, among many other memorable Ws. Wouldn't protest if any one of those ended up No. 1 on the Family Feud board, but gimme this one over all of 'em: None of the other wins felt quite this extraordinary, quite this magical, quite this oh my GAWD are they actually gonna pull this one out?
None of them required the sheer volume of magic needed here, either, since the Sixers had to do it over 58 total minutes on Sunday, thanks to two overtime periods in which it seemed like they had only five healthy players left on the eligible roster once BBall Paul fouled out with eight seconds to go in regulation. The Spurs spent about 40 of those minutes -- from about four minutes into the second quarter until there were about two minutes left in the second OT -- looking like easily the higher-powered team. They had the momentum, they had the shooting, and they had Wembanyama, the biggest eraser in the NBA on one end and the sharpest, pointiest, lead-poisoning-est pencil tip at the other. And of course, we had no Joel Embiid to outduel him this time, with Jo sitting the second half of the back to back after playing the much easier night in Memphis, a decision that certainly would've led to 48 hours of fan consternation had Philly not managed to escape this one.
What did we have? We had Tyrese's too-hyper-to-know-he's-exhausted energy, Kelly Oubre Jr.'s increasingly controlled chaos (five assists!! AGAIN!!! SECOND NIGHT IN A ROW!!!!) and Nicolas Batum's veteran witchcraft. And that was about it. The Sixers had improbably closed a seven-point gap to end regulation, thanks to Maxey briefly rediscovering his stroke on two long jumpers, finding Batum for a three of his own, and then completing Philly's greatest two-point conversion since Jalen Hurts in the Super Bowl on an immaculate dime from Nico. But by the start of overtime, Maxey had already played 44 minutes -- working impossibly hard for his 46 points in regulation, with his shot almost entirely MIA -- and while BBall and Oubre had done their parts, the former had fouled out trying to contain Wemby and the latter seemed to have thrown his best few punches keeping the team afloat in the fourth. It didn't seem like they were going to have enough to close this one out.
And in truth, the Sixers wouldn't have had enough, if not for a late-game power-up courtesy of Ricky Council IV. While I've been mostly fine with Ricky being stapled to Nick Nurse's bench as the Sixers have finally gotten healthy enough to put together a convincing rotation without him, his knuckleball funk was badly needed in a game where the Spurs were hitting everything our usual bullpen was throwing out there. I still have questions about how he fits into this particular Sixers squad at full strength, but I have to give him special credit for his poise and play-making in the second overtime here -- including an absurd up-and-under and-one layup and an even absurder wrap-around kickout to Batum for three that basically put this game out of reach for San Antonio. Whether it ends up being here or somewhere else, he's an NBA player for sure.
You know who else was making gorgeous passes in extra time, by the way? One Kelly Oubre Jr., including two helpers in the first OT and a game-sealing alley-oop to KJ Martin in the second. It's amazing how suddenly easy it is to take for granted that Oubre will make the right decision in tight spots, as if this was an ability he had all along but has only recently thought to unlock. Combined with his maintained focus on defense, including a huge steal in the second overtime, and a somewhat rediscovered stroke from three (2-6 from deep -- we'll take it), and this continues to be the best version we've seen of Oubre yet, and absolutely a guy we can and should trust in the playoffs. (Nick Nurse, if you start playing Tobias Harris over him the second Tobias is available I SWEAR you will never again know a second's peace.)
Both those dudes were incredible tonight, and I can only imagine the Sting-worthy Batumgasm that our Dan Olinger was experiencing throughout the fourth quarter and beyond. But lest we be accused of not keeping the main thing the main thing, gotta take an extra beat to appreciate the greatness of Tyrese Maxey in this one. Another 50-pointer, ho hum, but this was a new type of 50-piece for Tyrese -- one where he didn't even really have his best stuff. He shot just 2-10 from three, couldn't get it going in the mid-range, and even found himself increasingly victimized by Wembanyama at the rim as the game wore on. Truth told, I'm not totally sure how he still managed to get the ball in the basket 19 times on 41 tries -- but he did, also getting to the line a dozen times, and handing out seven assists while turning the ball over just once. (One time!! IN 54 MINUTES!!!) Not having your fastball and still netting 50-plus and the W, even in the face of the NBA's next generational talent? That's superstar shit, mes copains, and it's getting on time we start thinking of our beautiful boy Tyrese in those terms.
A win like this goes beyond individual performances, though. The real reason this W was so huge wasn't about the stats or even about the standings. It was about affirming that, with the playoffs barely a week away, the Sixers have That Thing that championship-level teams have, that undefinable sorcery that allows them to pull Ws out of the deepest recesses of their asses, that gravity that keeps teams from ever reaching escape velocity against them. Sunday night was one of those we've got it like that and you don't yet wins that SHOULD separate teams like the Sixers from teams like the Spurs, no matter who is on the court for either squad. And for the Sixers to believe they can do what needs to be done this postseason while battling uphill the entire way, they needed to see it tonight. So did those of us watching from home, really.
And that might be all it ends up meaning. The Heat could win out, the Sixers could lose to Orlando on Friday, and this game could be a footnote from this regular-season stretch run faster than any of us are comfortable with. But with three games left before the playoffs, we still have the chance to end this season on our highest note yet, to enter the postseason with all the momentum in the world and a sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach of any team at risk of facing us. And after a win like Sunday in San Antonio, it once again feels like anything is possible with this team. Believe in Embiid and Maxey. Believe in Nick Nurse. Believe in magic. Believe in this being The Year.
Andrew Unterberger writes for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez, as part of the 'If Not, Pick Will Convey as Two Second-Rounders' section of the site. You can follow Andrew on Twitter @AUGetoffmygold and can also read him at Billboard.
Andrew's writing is brought to you by Kinetic Skateboarding! Not only the Ricky's approved skate shop, but the best place to get Chucks, Vans, any apparel. Use code "DAVESILVER" for 9.1% off your order.