If you would have asked each of the players on both the Sixers and the Warriors, I’m sure the last thing they would have wanted to be doing Tuesday night is playing a basketball game.
Nevertheless, the show must go on. With the entire world mourning the loss of the great Kobe Bryant, the Philadelphia 76ers knocked off the Golden State Warriors by a score of 115-104.
A week ago and I would have considered a matchup like this to be one of the least interesting games of the season. However, due to a large variety of unforeseen events, it turned out to be one of the more storyline-packed contests for the Sixers this year.
Game Recap
Before the game even began, the Sixers organization did their very best to pay tribute to the Philadelphia native, Kobe Bryant, along with the other 8 lives that were lost this weekend.
The Wells Fargo Arena was lit up purple and gold, a 33 second moment of silence was observed during the pregame routines, and a very emotional rendition of the National Anthem was delivered as the Sixers and Warriors stood side by side, all dawning some version of a Kobe jersey.
Joel Embiid, who was particularly close to Bryant, decided to wear the number 24 for the entire evening. Zhaire Smith, on the other hand, decided to show his respect by opting to not wear his usually assigned #8 jersey.
Despite all this, the story of the first half ultimately became about backup guard Raul Neto. The Brazilian exploded in the first half, scoring a whopping 19 points. Neto was playing so well that Ben Simmons even let up his regular “starter” minutes, instead encouraging Brett Brown to roll with Neto.
The game concluded with everyone getting a piece of the pie. Simmons got right back to work in the second half, finishing the night with 17 points and 5 assists in just 27 minutes (he also went 9/10 from the FT line).
Embiid ultimately recorded 24 points and 10 rebounds in a very emotional outing for him, and Al Horford really excelled in the fourth quarter, finishing the night with a near triple-double (12 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists).
Hey, Embiid is Back!
JoJo had full-on hand surgery less than three weeks ago, and now he’s back. Many projections had Embiid being out for upwards of 2-3 months, so seeing him in action on Tuesday sure was a relief to Sixers fans.
Not only is Embiid healthy again, but he still looks pretty darn dominant. As mentioned previously, Joel finished the game with 24 points and 10 rebounds, but this doesn’t tell the full story.
He did this while playing just 26 minutes, missing just 4 shots, and frequently seeing double teams. Quite the day for the big lad.
Al Horford… the Closer?
Horford has really struggled to find his rhythm here in 2020. However, his most recent performance against the Lakers really proved where his value can be found. He was cold-blooded down the stretch against one of the best defenders in the league, hitting shot after shot.
Against the Warriors was no different. Horford paced himself all game long, before exploding in crunch time. His near triple-double is a great example of what he can bring to the table each night, even while playing next to Embiid.
Young Guns Showing Out
In his second consecutive start, Shake Milton had himself a night. 11 points, 2 assists, while shooting ⅚ from the field, Milton is more and more looking like a legit piece for the Sixers moving forward.
Last year’s first-round pick Zhaire Smith finally played in his first full NBA game this year. In 10 minutes he scored just 3 points, however, his defense definitely appeared to be above average at first glance.
The Sixers have one more cupcake matchup before they take on the beasts of the Eastern Conference. They head out to Atlanta this Thursday with both the Celtics and the Heat looming in the near future…
Looking for some more Sixers content? Check out The Ring the Bell Podcast for PhillySportsNetwork!
Links for the most recent episode, talking all about that huge win over the Lakers this weekend: https://phillysportsnetwork.com/2020/01/27/dav/
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
