Sixers Shake Off Injuries, Put Together “Philly-hard” Team Effort to Top Pistons

DETROIT -- Prior to Sunday’s tip-off against the Pistons, Sixers coach Brett Brown talked at length about the excitement of finally having all three bigs back together, healthy.

He may to wait a bit longer for that finally happen.

Nerlens Noel made his long-awaited debut Sunday in Auburn Hills, Mich. after missing the first 23 regular-season games, and — as expected — he made an immediate impact off the bench.

In just 10:23 of action, Noel pumped out eight points and put on an impressive display of strength and athleticism, capped by a 15-foot elbow jumper in the second quarter.

But just as the Sixers took the floor for the start of the second half, it quickly became apparent that Noel wouldn’t be joining them. The 6-foot-11 center took a hard foul with a minute left in the first quarter and landed awkwardly on his left ankle. He was later diagnosed with an ankle strain (see story).

It was a big blow to Brown and the Sixers, who have been forced to be creative while managing countless injuries. But rather than wave the white flag Sunday, the Sixers managed to stave off the Pistons’ fourth-quarter comeback attempt and complete a much-needed 97-79 road win (see Instant Replay).

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It was an impressive win for the Sixers, who jumped out to a 32-12 lead through the first quarter and never looked back.

“Down the stretch, we had to come up with some big rebounds,” Brown said. “Jahlil (Okafor) got a big one, Robert Covington came out of the pack with one. The game was fragile for a little while, but we had some great plays.”

Brown wasn’t willing to speculate how much time Noel will miss following his latest injury, but he didn’t seem overly concerned. Then again, given how his players stepped up in both the absence of Noel, Sergio Rodriguez and Joel Embiid, he may have good reason not to worry.

Sunday’s win, the second straight on the road for the Sixers, proved to be the perfect example of a team win, according to Brown. In his eyes, everyone stepped up.

“All over the place, people contributed,” Brown said, “And ultimately, it really was a team effort.”

Whether it was T.J. McConnell, who fell an assist shy of a triple double, or Nik Stauskas, who recorded double-digit points for the third straight game, Sunday’s win was clearly a team win.  

Told he’d be making just his 18th career start minutes before tip-off, McConnell put together arguably his best career performance Sunday with 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. 

“I just tried to step in and hold down the fort for as long as I could,” said McConnell, who entered Sunday’s contest averaging a career-low 3.3 points and 4.2 assists.

It was arguably McConnell’s best NBA game to date. And it couldn’t have come at a better time for the Sixers, who were battling one of the NBA’s toughest defenses without Embiid, their leading scorer.

“That’s the best defensive team in the NBA right now, by statistics,” Brown said. “We had to take some hits, but in general, our ball movement the past five to seven games has been very good.”

All in all, five Sixers reached double digits against a team that owned the second-best defended field goal percentage in the league. The Sixers responded by shooting 56 percent from the field.

Ersan Illyasova continued his dominance this December with a 15-point showing against his former team. Covington scored a team-high 16 points. Stauskas added 10. 

For Brown, it was the perfect win. And it came at the perfect time.

“I think it really was a Philly-hard effort,” Brown said. “This was a team result. And I feel like, as a team, we responded.”

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