MILWAUKEE - There were plenty of occasions Wednesday night when the old 76ers might have folded their tents and called it a night; just another teachable moment for a young team still trying to get its footing in the NBA.
But these aren't the old 76ers. And even without big guns like Joel Embiid or Jahlil Okafor on the floor down the stretch of close games, these Sixers are gaining confidence by the day.
The Sixers' 114-109 victory in Milwaukee Wednesday was proof of that (see Instant Replay).
Up big after scoring a season-high 72 points in the first half, the Sixers went flat coming out of the break and allowed the Bucks to close within five heading into the final quarter. That's when turnovers, misses and defensive lapses finally caught up to the Sixers in the fourth and Milwaukee took the lead with six minutes to play.
Yet, the Sixers didn't panic. They didn't fold. They didn't play flawlessly, either, but they made enough plays at the right time to pull away in the closing moments when Nerlens Noel hit a pair of free throws and then sank a 12-footer with 15 seconds to play.
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"It was more of just finding ways to win," Sixers coach Brett Brown said. "We had some errant passes but to watch Nerlens and Ersan [Ilyasova] step up and make free throws, have a broken play with Nerlens being the recipient at the end confidently making an 18-foot jump shot ... that part of their confidence stood out in major ways. We want to better execute some of the things we have drawn up or looked at, but in general, their perseverance in finding a way to get a win was outstanding."
Wednesday was just the latest example. The Sixers have won five of their last six and 10 of the last 13 games, and most of those victories have been decided in the final minutes. A night earlier, they recovered from a 19-point deficit in the third quarter to roll to a 121-110 victory over the Clippers.
"The common denomination is to be completely in attack mode," Brown said. "You can't play when you're looking up at a clock and hope that it evaporates and runs out. You can't find ways to overthink things when you're losing."
So even with 10 lead changes, four misses in four tries from beyond the arc and six turnovers in the fourth, the Sixers kept playing. Gerald Henderson and Robert Covington scored six points each while Noel scored eight in the final quarter and they found a way to win ... again.
"It just comes with experience - good and bad," Henderson said. "We started the season just checking off games at the end; turnover, turnover, turnover or messing up coverages. Now we've had some situations where we've come up with plays, taken care of the ball, had positive experiences.
"All that helps you be a better team down the stretch."
In the NBA, 15 seconds is an eternity - especially with a one-possession lead - but the Sixers were relaxed and, most importantly, confident, and the result was another victory for a team that's starting to figure itself out.
"I think the guidance from Coach Brown and how much he focuses on defense, letting everything else figure itself out, the offense is coming along like he predicted," Noel said. "This team showed a lot of resilience tonight. They were up early, they came back late in the game but we still found ways to get efficient shots and it worked out for us."
