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Speaker 1: seventy five. The Fanatic A tough one on multiple levels
Speaker 1: for the seventy Sixers and a one twenty four one
Speaker 1: twenty one loss to the Portland Trailblazers Tonight. I'm Brian Seltzer.
Speaker 1: Sixers lost Joel Embiid early on, midway through the first quarter,
Speaker 1: and man, it seemed like things were headed from a
Speaker 1: not great direction to an even worse direction based on
Speaker 1: how this game began to track. But the Sixers, to
Speaker 1: their credit, were resilient. They were persist instant. They had
Speaker 1: a great third quarter and put themselves in position with
Speaker 1: their fight to win this game tonight. They found themselves
Speaker 1: ahead one fourteen one o eight in the closing minutes,
Speaker 1: but then some of the main stays for the Portland
Speaker 1: Trailblazers began to take over in terms of bringing them back.
Speaker 1: Whether it was a guy like Damian Lillard with one
Speaker 1: three pointer another that resulted in a four point play,
Speaker 1: a driving finger roll layup. It was a run of
Speaker 1: twelve nothing by the Trailblazers to overcome that six point
Speaker 1: deficit with four minutes twenty three seconds to go, and
Speaker 1: Damian Lillard was right in the middle of it. It
Speaker 1: was a heroic performance for the Trailblazers. All star fifty
Speaker 1: one points, the tenth fifty point game of his career,
Speaker 1: sixteen to twenty eight from the floor, four of twelve
Speaker 1: from outside the arc. He got to the line a
Speaker 1: ridiculous amount, fifteen for sixteen from the stripe, seven assists.
Speaker 1: He was fantastic and the Trailblazers, fighting for their lives
Speaker 1: to get into a playoff spot in the Western Conference,
Speaker 1: need every bit of him. One twenty one the final
Speaker 1: score the seventy sixers. They got a herculean effort from
Speaker 1: Josh Richardson. He played an amazing hero role tonight thirty
Speaker 1: four points, a season high six for ten from outside
Speaker 1: the arc, twenty for Alec Burke's off the bench, but
Speaker 1: not enough for the seventy sixers will join now in progress.
Speaker 1: Brett brandhamsh will be asked about the status of Joel Embiid,
Speaker 1: who left the game early with a left ankle injury.
Speaker 1: Do you think you guys, have you guys think you
Speaker 1: need to be able to do that happen? And do
Speaker 1: you think you have the players who can do it
Speaker 1: insistently enough? I think when you when you study the
Speaker 1: most dangerous offensive players in our sport, and if you
Speaker 1: especially study the emergence of about what I'm going to say,
Speaker 1: there is zero doubt that the most difficult people to
Speaker 1: defend the live ball guards. And tonight as an example,
Speaker 1: you know, let's go to Damian Lillard. Though they can dance,
Speaker 1: they can shoot like you go out and play them.
Speaker 1: They can go buy you and draw fouls. They're so
Speaker 1: used to the attention that they receive as they can
Speaker 1: go one hundred miles an hour and stop. And you
Speaker 1: know Matisse collides in with what Jay Rich collides in
Speaker 1: with Damian, and you know it exposes a foul and
Speaker 1: so you point about live ball guys that can score.
Speaker 1: It is the most dangerous, the most difficult person to
Speaker 1: defend those people that you referenced. It's true as it
Speaker 1: relates to my particular team. I think that we, you know,
Speaker 1: will score in different ways, and like when you look
Speaker 1: at the box score, scoring wasn't the problem. We did
Speaker 1: it in different ways without Joel. But going back just
Speaker 1: to you, I think your basic question of are those
Speaker 1: guys the most difficult, yes, they are. And I think
Speaker 1: that scoring, although you'd like to have a lot of
Speaker 1: those types of players scoring tonight wasn't the problem. It's
Speaker 1: got a Keith next he Brett. You talked about Joel.
Speaker 1: How how is Joel doing? He looked like he was
Speaker 1: in great spirits in the second hand, I'm gonna learn more,
Speaker 1: you know, physically, I don't know enough to comment on it,
Speaker 1: but I do, Keith agree with you, Like when every
Speaker 1: time I look behind the bench like he's into it.
Speaker 1: I thought, guys, I thought, I guys fought. I really
Speaker 1: thought the spirit of the group was fantastic. I think
Speaker 1: that we called upon you know, many different players um
Speaker 1: that I think played with a spirit of passion that
Speaker 1: you're proud of Joel was fully engaged, you know, as
Speaker 1: a teammate. As it relates to what his injury is
Speaker 1: or what it actually means, I can't comment. I don't know,
Speaker 1: but it was it was great just to see him
Speaker 1: being a part of the group. Now, Brett, what this
Speaker 1: um with the injury and every thing like that? Is
Speaker 1: it one of these things these last three games? Are
Speaker 1: you going to limit his minute, shut them down? Whatever?
Speaker 1: I know you need to get a rhythm out there,
Speaker 1: but you also want to make sure that you know,
Speaker 1: you guys aren't limping into the playoffs like worst than
Speaker 1: you are. Yeah, I think Keith, it's true kind of
Speaker 1: for everybody where you want to an honest sort of
Speaker 1: medical assessment of anything that equals a potential problem. You
Speaker 1: just want to avoid and landing the plane and entering
Speaker 1: the playoffs from this sort of vision line of a
Speaker 1: bubble and time off and you know, tiptoeing on pins
Speaker 1: and needles where you don't want people to get injured
Speaker 1: and still find a rhythm like that's a slippery slope.
Speaker 1: And so you know, you mentioned Joe, I think it
Speaker 1: extends the question for sure extends to people like alt Off.
Speaker 1: It as an example, you know, making sure Tobias is
Speaker 1: in a place that we can manage his minutes going
Speaker 1: forward and still find that balance of trying to compete
Speaker 1: and find a rhythm. Seventy Sixers head coach Brett Brown
Speaker 1: saying he expects to learn more moving forward about the
Speaker 1: status of Joel Embiid, who played just five minutes forty
Speaker 1: two seconds in tonight's game before leaving in the first
Speaker 1: quarter with a left ankle injury. He finished with two
Speaker 1: points four rebounds on the day. Seventy Sixers got a
Speaker 1: terrific showing from Josh Richardson, who finished with thirty four points,
Speaker 1: twenty for Alec Burks, who goes back to back twenty
Speaker 1: point games for the first time in his career since
Speaker 1: November two thousand and seventeen. Tobias Harris a little bit
Speaker 1: off night in terms of shooting the basketball, seven of
Speaker 1: nineteen from the field, sixteen points for him, Al Horford
Speaker 1: ending the evening with fifteen points, six rebounds, five assists.
Speaker 1: But the Sixers they like, Brett Brown said, they did
Speaker 1: show some quality spirit and that's not gonna necessarily buy
Speaker 1: you a win. It did not tonight, but under the circumstances,
Speaker 1: already without an all star in Ben Simmons, and then
Speaker 1: early on in the game having to cycle agually deal
Speaker 1: with the potential loss for who knows how long of
Speaker 1: another championship pillar to your title hopes in Joel Embiid.
Speaker 1: The Sixers managed to recover. They for as much as
Speaker 1: they could, tried to withstand the bridge of points from
Speaker 1: such a dangerous guard like Damian Lillard. In the end,
Speaker 1: they end up three points short, one twenty four to
Speaker 1: one twenty one. The Sixers led by six with about
Speaker 1: four minutes twenty seconds to go, Then Lillard lit the
Speaker 1: fuse for a twelve nothing Portland Trailblazers run that turned
Speaker 1: the game around. The seventy Sixers fall behind a little
Speaker 1: bit farther in a tight race for the fourth spot
Speaker 1: in the East. The Sixers now full game behind the
Speaker 1: Indiana Pacers and the Miami Heat, which are both ahead
Speaker 1: of them, respectively in the four and five slots. Tom
Speaker 1: mcguinnis had the call of this one from the center.
Speaker 1: Tom a really competitive game. It was entertaining down the stretch.
Speaker 1: We saw one of the top scorers in the world
Speaker 1: at his most brilliant in Damian Lillard. Brett Brown was
Speaker 1: talking about this. Live ball guards are difficult, and I
Speaker 1: think you probably had another later that when you've got
Speaker 1: an effective pick and roll threat, especially with that live guard,
Speaker 1: as the Portland Trailblazers do, it's a really difficult thing
Speaker 1: to stop. In the seventy six ers in the end
Speaker 1: could not absolutely. And so you're speaking of Nurkics, and
Speaker 1: that's you know, Coach Brown's talked about this many times
Speaker 1: over the years, and that is that one five their
Speaker 1: point guard, the one and Nurkics their center of the
Speaker 1: five middle pick and roll, and they were coming way
Speaker 1: out out setting that screen like at the three point line.
Speaker 1: So when Lillard wood coming was coming off, even if
Speaker 1: he decides to pull up, he's still outside the arc
Speaker 1: shooting of three. But he was brilliant down the stretch,
Speaker 1: including the four point play. And let's be honest, the
Speaker 1: guy shot sixteen free throws. He got a lot of calls,
Speaker 1: including on that four point play that was questionable. I
Speaker 1: don't know that Richardson even got anywhere near him. If anything,
Speaker 1: Lillard initiated the contact. But besides that, Lillard was attacking
Speaker 1: and brilliant from the opening tap in the opening quarter
Speaker 1: of play, and I likened it to a quarterback, you know,
Speaker 1: looking over the defense, surmising what's there and where he's
Speaker 1: going to go. But in this case, and I think
Speaker 1: what coaches talking about with a live ball and a
Speaker 1: live guard or whatever. He's looking and probing as he's dribbling,
Speaker 1: and so he's processing all this and then he's getting
Speaker 1: to the rim, so he's you know, he's calculating, and
Speaker 1: you know, getting back to the pick and roll aspect.
Speaker 1: And Nurkis is certainly, you know, a great roller, but
Speaker 1: he's also a guy who can pop and get it
Speaker 1: for a shot. But then, oh, by the way, Lillard's
Speaker 1: got CJ. McCollum hanging out on the wing, and one
Speaker 1: pass away from that is Carmelo Anthony. So it's very
Speaker 1: difficult to stop. And at times early on, the Sixers
Speaker 1: would leave Nurkis ready to load toward Lillard, and Nurkis
Speaker 1: was getting too much space and getting the limp. Now
Speaker 1: part of it was becausin Bead wasn't in the game,
Speaker 1: but the Sixers had to take a time out and
Speaker 1: work on that. So he puts so much pressure on
Speaker 1: your defense, and again fifty one points. He's had five
Speaker 1: of those games this year, ten on his career. He's brilliant,
Speaker 1: he's a fun player to watch and in totality again
Speaker 1: a great and an entertaining game. But it hurt for
Speaker 1: the Sixers to borrow Coach Brown's phrase a gut punch,
Speaker 1: because they battled and they were in it. Great game
Speaker 1: by Richardson. You had a lot of individual performances that
Speaker 1: put the Sixers in position, as you say, up six late,
Speaker 1: but couldn't hold on and could not stop that brilliant
Speaker 1: duo and particularly the tremendous, incredible play of Lillard. Seventy
Speaker 1: Sixers followed the Trailblazers one twenty four to one twenty one.
Speaker 1: We will ultimately get back to talking about Josh Richardson,
Speaker 1: But what do you think, Tom, with what the Sixers
Speaker 1: were able to find with Mike Scott playing at the five,
Speaker 1: as you alluded to, dwell Embiid went out early in
Speaker 1: this one with the ankle in during the first quarter.
Speaker 1: They tried in the first half some looks with norvl Pal.
Speaker 1: They also brought in Kylo Quinn, but in the second
Speaker 1: half it was a lot of Mike Scott of the
Speaker 1: five and we saw earlier in the season before the
Speaker 1: suspension that at times, situationally, that was something where the
Speaker 1: Sixers they were able to have some success with. Well, yeah,
Speaker 1: success might be a reach, it's it's doable. He holds
Speaker 1: off Nurkics, but in the end if he gets it
Speaker 1: on the block, there's no stop at him. Like I said,
Speaker 1: in those scenarios, So Mike's playing behind him, he's giving
Speaker 1: up so much height. He's what he did. He did
Speaker 1: this a couple of times. He got called for it.
Speaker 1: He reaches, he gambles, and that's not you know, that's
Speaker 1: not a winning formula. But look Mike Scott and to
Speaker 1: your point, Glenn Robinson the third got in there, and
Speaker 1: forget post defense for a split second. Those guys are hungry.
Speaker 1: They haven't been able to play in this bubble. They
Speaker 1: played a little bit in the scrimmages, not Robinson really,
Speaker 1: and Mike had the sore knee, so they were really
Speaker 1: anxious to get out there. Think about it, They've been
Speaker 1: working out for a month in Florida and for the
Speaker 1: entire pandemic, the portion where the season had been on hiatus,
Speaker 1: and they showed and even Alec Burke stepped up and
Speaker 1: had another big quarter and really delivered for the Sixers
Speaker 1: with twenty points as he did in the Orlando game.
Speaker 1: So I thought those guys and Matisse was trying to
Speaker 1: hold his own and again difficult, cute, difficult assignment in
Speaker 1: guarding Lillard and for Thible when he wasn't guarding Lillard,
Speaker 1: he had a guard McCollum. And he's still a rookie
Speaker 1: and he's still getting these calls against him. And I
Speaker 1: thought he was really good Horford in and out of file.
Speaker 1: Difficult difficulty didn't help. The only thing I'll say about Matisse,
Speaker 1: and again sometimes he's too unselfish. In other words, he
Speaker 1: had that steel late. You got to take that ball
Speaker 1: all the way until they cut you off and then
Speaker 1: maybe play it off to Horford because it was two
Speaker 1: bunched together. It ended up in a jump ball that
Speaker 1: they won. And he had an earlier sequence where he
Speaker 1: got to shoot that ball and you know, like just
Speaker 1: let it fly. And I think he's gonna be a
Speaker 1: really good outside shooter. He's just you know, he's maybe
Speaker 1: not playing with the confidence. When he has attacked. He's
Speaker 1: dunked at Fible, So I mean he had he had
Speaker 1: a decent game, but as you say, Richardson was really good.
Speaker 1: We talked earlier, Brian, you know, give or take about
Speaker 1: six twenty tonight, about how the Sixers totally needed somebody
Speaker 1: to step up in the absence of Simmons. Well, who
Speaker 1: knew in the end it would be in the absence
Speaker 1: of both Simmons and it'd be right, and it was
Speaker 1: Josh Richardson. And who knows if he's going to score
Speaker 1: thirty four points, which was the season high with the
Speaker 1: Sixers tonight, you know, on a game in game at basis,
Speaker 1: probably not, But just that the overall balance that Richardson
Speaker 1: scored with tonight. He did an inside, he did an outside,
Speaker 1: he distributed the ball when he attracted more defensive attention.
Speaker 1: I just thought he'd a really balanced offensive game. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: and if I'm not mistaken, he made six threes on
Speaker 1: ten tries. Here's the deal the Sixers with Harris, you know,
Speaker 1: being a top score getting twenty game and be being
Speaker 1: basically unstoppable at times for the Sixers. Ben Simmons is incredible.
Speaker 1: I mean, I know he's not in there right now,
Speaker 1: Josh Richard and Brett Brown has said this, and you
Speaker 1: gotta get Horford his touches, and he's a good ball.
Speaker 1: He's ball friendly or a ball movery Horford Josh Richardson,
Speaker 1: he very rarely gets plays called him. Tonight was different.
Speaker 1: He had the hot hand. They were doing dho's with him.
Speaker 1: He was being aggressive and you know, he knew that
Speaker 1: he had to kind of take on the score load
Speaker 1: and he hot had to have hot hand. But as
Speaker 1: you say, like some nights four points, some nights six,
Speaker 1: some nights thirty four. But I think it's also a
Speaker 1: product of he's not a focal point of the offense,
Speaker 1: and understandably so. But I think there are times now
Speaker 1: where you got to carve out a little niche for him,
Speaker 1: a little opportunity, give him the ball, because clearly he's
Speaker 1: shown that he's you know, he's capable, and he almost
Speaker 1: propelled the Sixers to a victory tonight in a hard
Speaker 1: fought game with Portland. Already time, Thank you very much
Speaker 1: for the thoughts. We will speak again on Tuesday. All right,
Speaker 1: good night. Seventy Sixers drop a close one to the
Speaker 1: Portland Trailblazers one twenty four to one twenty one. The
Speaker 1: headline from this one that will not be the close
Speaker 1: competitive nature of the game is. It's going to be
Speaker 1: what is the status of Joel and Bead moving forward,
Speaker 1: and that is something that we'll likely find out in
Speaker 1: the day's ahead and Bead left the game in the
Speaker 1: first quarter with a left ankle injury. Josh Richardson went
Speaker 1: for thirty four. Dame Lillard he went for fifty one.
Speaker 1: A huge performance in the closing minutes of the fourth
Speaker 1: quarter was enough to get the Trailblazers past the seventy
Speaker 1: Sixers by three sixers and the Trailblazers Trailblazers a lot
Speaker 1: to play for trying to sneak into the eighth seed.
Speaker 1: The seventy Sixers end of the evening trying to maintain
Speaker 1: and build upon their momentum having won three in a row.
Speaker 1: For the Sixers, the news was not great at the outset.
Speaker 1: They lost Joel Embiid about five and a half minutes
Speaker 1: into the game to a left ankle injury. He would
Speaker 1: not return, and from there the Trailblazers seized control and
Speaker 1: Hazonia with a ball Hazonia rights and a three is good.
Speaker 1: Well beyond the yard, he realized Cortboss wasn't coming out
Speaker 1: and so he nails a thirty two footer Lillard with
Speaker 1: the dime. He's got three assists at Portland back in
Speaker 1: front by fourteen thirty one seventeen. At that juncture, it
Speaker 1: felt like Portland could do no wrong. They laid thirty
Speaker 1: three nineteen after a first quarter in which Damian Lillard
Speaker 1: and CJ. McCollum combined for twenty one of those thirty
Speaker 1: three points. The Sixers rolling down by six when Joel
Speaker 1: Embiid went out, and Portland really sees the reins from there,
Speaker 1: the seventy sixers credit. They did not back down throughout
Speaker 1: the night. And the person who really helped spark the
Speaker 1: comeback charge was this guy, Josh Richardson. Milton office screen.
Speaker 1: Milton into the lane on Nurkics throws it all the
Speaker 1: way back out into the corner. Now, Josh Richardson three,
Speaker 1: ball is good. Mike Scott caught that long pass by shake.
Speaker 1: They moved into the corner. Jay rich for three. He
Speaker 1: had to bias of a goodbye for twenty one of
Speaker 1: the sixers forty two. That's half. Sixers are down forty
Speaker 1: nine forty two. At that point they trailed at the
Speaker 1: break sixty seven to fifty eight, Richardson scoring fourteen points
Speaker 1: in the second quarter. He was great from there on out.
Speaker 1: In the third quarter more from Josh Richardson, especially in
Speaker 1: the closing seconds, this punctuating a real big comeback surge
Speaker 1: by the seventy Sixers. Only fitting that it was Richardson
Speaker 1: in the hero role. Sixers would tend to shoot Josh
Speaker 1: Richardson a way out right near the sideline, dribbling with
Speaker 1: Lillard guarding him. The office switch. Collins has a four
Speaker 1: to shoot Josh behind the back step back, fifteen quarter
Speaker 1: higher archer. It's up and good. He's got twenty eight
Speaker 1: points and the Sixers have their first lead of the
Speaker 1: night four seconds ago. It was amazing because it felt
Speaker 1: like when the Sixers trailed by seventeen, they were down
Speaker 1: by thirty four. But there they were through three quarters,
Speaker 1: leading the Trailblazers ninety two to ninety one. Fast forwarding
Speaker 1: to the home stretch of the fourth quarter, Josh Richardson
Speaker 1: appeared to put the seventy Sixers in prime position to
Speaker 1: take this one in bolt ball with the four and
Speaker 1: the o' clock goes out the richards for three and
Speaker 1: it's good. Are you kidding me, Josh Richardson will be
Speaker 1: on the arc over the outstretched garment. C. J. McCollum
Speaker 1: and Richardson now with six threes at thirty four points,
Speaker 1: and that would be it for the scoring for Richardson,
Speaker 1: giving the Sixers on one fourteen, one o eight lead.
Speaker 1: It would not be it for the scoring of Damian Lillard.
Speaker 1: He was fantastic in the final moments and this was
Speaker 1: the play that really turned things around. Nurkid screens leader
Speaker 1: comes off, he goes to the mind, tried to draw
Speaker 1: the follow and he does and he makes it. Josh
Speaker 1: Richardson was doing his level best everything possible to avert
Speaker 1: any contact, and he still got called for the foul
Speaker 1: and Lillard made it. And Lillard also made the ensuing
Speaker 1: the free throw of four point play that vaulted the
Speaker 1: Trailblazers had one seventeen to one fourteen. It was part
Speaker 1: of a string of seven straight points from Damian Lillard,
Speaker 1: and even bigger was the Trailblazers run of twelve nothing
Speaker 1: that turned to six point deficit into a lead that
Speaker 1: they would not relinquish the rest of the way. Seventy
Speaker 1: Sixers did get within a point at one twenty two
Speaker 1: one twenty one with twelve point two seconds to go
Speaker 1: on an al hore for three, but they could not
Speaker 1: get over the top as the Trailblazers were able to
Speaker 1: get themselves across the finish line safely. Six or shot
Speaker 1: forty eight and a half percent for the game, the
Speaker 1: Blazers forty seven and a half percent. Six Ers fourteen
Speaker 1: to thirty from the three point line, while the Trailblazers
Speaker 1: were eleven of thirty five from the stripe the Sixers
Speaker 1: thirteen for seventeen. Trailblazers behind Damian Lillard won twenty seven
Speaker 1: for twenty nine from the free throw line. That was
Speaker 1: a huge reason why they were able to clear the
Speaker 1: hurdle that the seventy sixers presented. Sixers were plus seven
Speaker 1: on the glass. They were great on the offensive boards,
Speaker 1: as they were able to outscore the Trailblazers twenty four
Speaker 1: to seven on second chance points. Fifteen turnovers a bit
Speaker 1: too much for the Sixers only ten for the Trailblazers.
Speaker 1: Damian Lillard was a virtuoso tonight, scoring the basketball fifty
Speaker 1: one points sixteen to twenty eight from the field, four
Speaker 1: of twelve from three fifteen of sixteen from the line.
Speaker 1: He also had seven assists. C J McCollum held relatively
Speaker 1: in check. He was seven of seventeen from the field
Speaker 1: for sixteen points. Carmelo Anthony twenty points, seven rebounds, big
Speaker 1: night four the veteran The Sixers got thirty four That
Speaker 1: was a season high from Josh Richardson, thirteen of twenty
Speaker 1: from the field, six of ten from three point territory,
Speaker 1: five boards, and six assists, twenty points for Alec Burks
Speaker 1: off the bench, he was eight of fourteen from the field.
Speaker 1: He had a big fourth quarter, first time since November
Speaker 1: of twenty seventeen. He scored twenty points in back to
Speaker 1: back game sixteen for Tobias Harris to go with seven
Speaker 1: rebounds and three assists. Al Horford with fifteen points, six
Speaker 1: boards and five dimes. Seventy six Ers three game winning
Speaker 1: streak comes to an end. They're now forty two and
Speaker 1: twenty eight overall on the season, three and two in Orlando,
Speaker 1: while the Trailblazers improved to thirty three and thirty nine
Speaker 1: on the year. Trying to cling to an outside chance
Speaker 1: of getting in to the eighth seed in the Western Conference,
Speaker 1: You've been listening to Rewind. Look out for fresh episodes
Speaker 1: of the Day after every seventy six Ers game this season.