[ad_1]
-
Tim BontempsESPN
ORLANDO, Florida – For three quarters of the season, the Jimmy Butler era in Philadelphia was exactly what it was supposed to be.
But the basketball games last four quarters. And the last 12 minutes of Wednesday night's game for the 76ers against the Orlando Magic, which seemed destined to a happy ending for the All-Star quadruple of the Sixers has been completely transformed.
Instead, it was the Magic that created a great 21-0 run to clear a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter, then a 11-2 pass to reconcile the game with a 111-106 win for Orlando and spoil Butler's first goal. play with Philadelphia. Butler finished with 14 points, four rebounds and two assists in 33 minutes, but failed to deliver a win to the Sixers in the bottom right.
It seemed like he had Philadelphia in a position to win two victories – the first when he hit Mike Muscala for a 3-pointer with 3.33 seconds remaining to reach a score of 104-100 in favor of the Sixers, then another time when he found Joel Embiid wide -Open on the left wing for a starting point at 3, he remains 1:20.
Embiid, however, missed Ben Simmons would later hit two free throws with 52.1 seconds to tie at 106, a 3-pointer from Terrence Ross with 8.7 seconds left Orlando forever.
Philadelphia had one last chance to draw, but JJ Redick went overboard trying to run a dribble transfer along the sideline with Simmons, which cost the Sixers the chance to score the match tied.
A pair of free throws from center Magic, Nikola Vucevic, with 5.3 seconds to go, officially opened the way and sent Philadelphia to a surprising defeat in Butler's first match with the franchise.
Nevertheless, the All Star quad, which the Sixers have acquired – with forward Justin Patton – forward Dario Saric, forward Robert Covington, guard Jerryd Bayless and a future second-round pick, showed signs of chemistry with his new teammates although they only participated in one morning session before Wednesday night's game.
His first basket arrived just over two minutes into the match when he took a pass from Embiid on the left wing, cut it to the basket and finished an acrobatic layup. Embiid finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for a triple double, and Philadelphia had 32 assists for a total of 41 goals – an impressive total for a team attempting to incorporate a significant new play.
The other question regarding the Sixers who are preparing for this match concerns the status of Markelle Fultz, the number one choice of last year who was replaced by Butler in the Philadelphia starting lineup.
Before Wednesday's game, Sixers coach Brett Brown assured that Fultz would continue to be part of the team's plans, and that Brown was keeping his promises against the Magic. Fultz replaced Simmons in the first and third quarters and made long runs in every half – 12 minutes in the first and nine in the second.
He finished the game with eight points, three rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes, but did not attempt a free kick after doubling in the second quarter of Monday's win in Miami – then announcing that he had escaped his victory. hand.
The real story, however, was Butler, who was finally wearing a different jersey after spending nearly two months waiting for the Timberwolves to respond to his request to be traded out of Minnesota.
Before the match, Brown and Butler had both acknowledged there would be a period of adjustment, but Butler said that playing hard would solve much of the crisis.
"I love basketball," he said. "That's where my energy comes from.I love the competition.I love to show that I can help a team to win, that I am one of the best players in the league.
"That's where my energy comes from: go out there, compete and play hard, everything else will work out."
Source link
