Wow, what a thriller.
The Philadelphia 76ers remain undefeated after coming back from a 19-point deficit on Tuesday night to take down the Washington Wizards 139-134 in overtime.
The odds were stacking against the Sixers with the Wizards shooting the lights out and the 76ers looking like… well, like they were on the second leg of a back-to-back, for sure. However, thanks to some heroic efforts, especially from Adem Bona, the Sixers were able to pry a victory from the jaws of defeat. They are now 4-0
to start the season.
If you’re looking for a full game recap, you can find that here. To vote for the Sixers Bell Ringer, head here.
If you want to see some highlights that helped turn this one around for Philadelphia, you’re in the right place. Let’s get watching.
1. Textbook two-man game from Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid
Love to see these two getting to go to work on the floor together again! This is just a simple but beautifully-effective give-and-go between Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Maxey makes a great cut after passing the ball off to Embiid and the big fella splits the defenders with the dime back to Maxey for the finish at the rim.
2. Tyrese Maxey’s first period shooting
Maxey picked right back up where he left off on Monday night, putting up a dozen on the Wizards in the opening frame Tuesday night. Maxey shot 4-for-6 from the floor, 2-for-3 from long range, with two rebounds, two assists and a block in the first period against the Wizards.
3. Adem Bona blocks, Kelly Oubre Jr. hits from beyond the arc
We’re zooming ahead to the fourth period now as the Sixers finally shift into gear to try to overcome what was once a 19-point deficit. Bona starts this one off with a monster block — one of many from the end of this contest, more on that to come — and Kelly Oubre Jr. capitalizes. Oubre continues to have success with the midrange jumper and keeps drawing fouls in the process, which becomes absolutely massive when the Sixers are trying to mount comebacks with time running thin. He finished Tuesday night with his second consecutive double-double, putting up 17 points with 11 rebounds.
4. Quentin Grimes battles back
Tuesday night’s game was a bit of a mixed bag for Quentin Grimes, but he stepped up when it really mattered and this is the perfect example. In this late fourth-period sequence, Grimes hits a three and goes right to work on the full-court defense, stealing the ball away for the Sixers and ultimately allowing them to pull within three points in the final minute.
Grimes scored 12 points in the pivotal fourth period, shooting 5-for-8 from the floor and 2-for-3 from long range, with three rebounds, one assist, a steal and two blocks in the frame.
5. Adem Bona blocks again (does NOT goaltend!)
We had to wait a bit for the confirmation on this one as it happened, but that is a clean block from Bona with just 23 seconds to play and the game tied! This was called a goaltend on the floor, momentarily giving the Wizards the 128-126 lead, but review eventually prevailed and Bona was credited with the clean block, keeping the game level and ultimately sending it to overtime at 126-126.
6. A little Tyrese Maxey magic keeps the Sixers’ hopes alive.
The Sixers weren’t able to score a single point in the first few minutes of overtime, so it was going to take a little Maxey magic to get things going. Not only does Maxey stay inbounds battling the Wizards defense along the baseline, but he also manages to actually finish the play with an insane reverse layup. Maxey would ultimately score nine points in overtime after getting started with this bucket.
7. Adem Bona slams home his only points of the game — the go-ahead bucket in overtime.
Bona scored just two points in Tuesday’s game, but boy were they important. The Sixers trailed by one point with 28 seconds remaining in overtime. On this play, you can see Bona set the screen for Maxey way out at the logo before immediately trailing him all the way to the net, putting him in perfect position to get up and slam home a put-back dunk on the floater that Maxey left a little short. This was the Sixers’ first lead since the first period, and it was ultimately the one that mattered.
8. Adem Bona does it all, secures the win for Philadelphia.
There was really no more appropriate way for this one to end. After the put-back dunk to take the lead for the Sixers, Bona gets up to block CJ McCollum’s effort to re-tie the game and effectively seals the win for Philadelphia.
9. Oops! All Adem Bona!
Some of these we already looked at individually above, and some we haven’t talked about here yet — they’re all worth watching again. From 7:15 left in the fourth period through the end of overtime, Bona put up a massive five blocks and scored the go-ahead points that led the Sixers’ to victory. Here’s all of those moments from his game-changing stint.
What was YOUR favorite highlight from the Sixers’ win over the Wizards? What did we miss? Let us know in the comments!
