Sixers keep home streak rolling, overpower Clippers

By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The Sixers (28-25) kept their home winning ways alive in game three of their five-game homestand in a 112-98 rout of the Los Angeles Clippers (28-26) at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night. The Sixers are now winners of seven straight home games, their longest home streak since 2008.

The #Sixers have now won seven straight games at home for the first time in 10 years. #HereTheyCome

— Sixerdelphia (@Sixerdelphia) February 11, 2018

In the second half of the back-to-back, Joel Embiid, playing in just the second back-to-back of his career, put up solid numbers once again, scoring 29 points, tacking on 16 rebounds, and adding three blocks, two assists, and a steal. Embiid only shot 9-of-23 from the field, but made up for it with a solid 10-of-13 from the foul line.

The scariest moment of the game occurred late in the fourth quarter, when Embiid turned the corner with the ball and slipped on his knee, landing awkwardly on the ground. He turned up clutching his knee, eventually making his way back to the locker room under his own power. He later returned to finish the game, but it was a scary moment for sure given his history of lower body injuries.

The Sixers got production out of most of their starting five, but their bench really stepped up at the end of the day, led by TJ McConnell and Justin Anderson, who both provided sparks on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

For McConnell, his range continues to increase, as he was a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc in the game. In his last five games, McConnell is 5-for-5 from 3-point land, and his shooting 47.6% from downtown this season.

.@sixers G @TJMcConnell with his 12th career game with at least 15 points. It's his sixth this season alone.

h/t @bball_ref

— Sixers Stats (@SixersStats) February 11, 2018

McConnell finished the night with 17 points, eight assists, and two steals. Justin Anderson scored 12 points for the Sixers, adding four rebounds, an assist, and a very aggressive block, that got the Wells Fargo Center crowd going.

Back to the starting lineup, the Sixers got production from Ben Simmons once again, where he finished with a double-double, 14 points and 10 assists, with five rebounds, two steals, and a block. Simmons also had a team-high four turnovers, but also finished a +12 on the floor.

JJ Redick provided an offensive spark that really put the Sixers over the top and allowed them to maintain their lead even if the Clippers started to shoot the ball well and try to cut the deficit more and more. Redick had 17 points, but went 5-of-10 from three, going 6-of-12 from the field. Redick also had three assists and a rebound, and had one of those once-in-a-while kind of blocks as well. Redick finished a +10 for the night.

While he didn't shoot the ball as well as he's been the last five games, he still scored 10 points, and played very good defense for the Sixers. Saric had nine rebounds and five assists, with a block for the team.

So when is Robert Covington going to wake up this season? The small forward has barely made his mark on the Sixers in the ways he played last year, and tonight was just another example of his lackluster offensive night, and his carelessness in easy situations. Covington finished with seven points, five rebounds, three steals, and an assist, but his 3-of-11 shooting, 1-of-6 from three were  the highlights of this one, and definitely not in a positive way either.

Covington had two plays that really defined the kind of night he had tonight. One was a steal that he garnered, and had the opportunity to shoot a wide-open 3-pointer from the right wing, which he completely missed off the rim.

The other was a wide-open dunk attempt with complete daylight in front of him, where the ball just sailed off the rim and out of play. Although the Sixers didn't rely on Covington's scoring to win the game, and his lack of scoring didn't exactly hurt the team in the end, he just was unable to capitalize on key situations that are just so easy to get.

The Sixers as a team continued to shoot the ball well, shooting 47.8% (43-90) from the field, 39/4% (13-33) from downtown, and 76.5% (13-17) from the line.

The Clippers were unsurprisingly led by one of the best bench players in the NBA in Lou Williams, who scored 23 points in 32 minutes. He added six assists and four rebounds, but also had seven turnovers. Despite getting points, he shot 9-of-21 from the field, 4-of-10 from three for a -22 on the floor.

Danilo Gallinari had 22 points, and DeAndre Jordan had 21 rebounds and 10 points for the Clippers in the loss.

The Clippers are now 5-22 when trailing at the end of the third quarter.

The Sixers hope to get their home winning streak up to eight games when they host the New York Knicks on Monday at 7 p.m. ET.