The Sixers played incredible defense last night to take a well deserved 94-83 win over the Pistons at the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers now lead the Pistons 3-1 in the meetings they have had this season.
However it seemed like there was a big cloud following the elusive win. Nerlens Noel left the game with 4:27 remaining in the third with a right foot injury following an effort to complete an Alley Oop. Whilst the rookie didn’t see action on the court again, he was able to rejoin the team on the bench after a locker room examination.
Noel once again was the star of the show until that moment, making several highlight plays. A great link up with Jason Richardson saw him plant an Alley-Oop down with two hands whilst he also swatted a driving layup attempt from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, adding another addition to his block list.
The second quarter was one of complete defensive dominance. The Sixers forced the Pistons to score just 18 points on 31.6 percent shooting whilst enforcing no less than nine turnovers. This was huge for the Sixers. Take into account that the Celtics smashed 38 points past them in the first quarter alone, something had to be done defensively..and it was. Not only that but Detroit averages the sixth-fewest turnovers in the league with less than 13 a game. The Sixers forced that number in one quarter.
However it wasn’t just defensively things were revamped. Ish Smith made his second start since joining the team 13 games ago. He ended with 15 points, 8 assists, and three steals & turnovers.
Jason Richardson had missed 16 consecutive three-pointers coming into the game but showed drastic signs of improvement. He finished with 14 points and hit over 50% from beyond the arc.
The New York Knicks travel to the Wells Fargo Center to face Philly on Friday where they will look to penetrate the huge wall that seems to have been put up around the net. They’ll have to do that without leading scorer Carmelo Anthony since his injury last month. Are the winds of change blowing around Philadelphia?
