The Philadelphia 76ers were looking to get back on the right track after letting one slip away in the home opener on Friday. So with an opportunity right in front of them against the Oklahoma City Thunder, they wanted to get off to a fast start.
They did so by getting Seth Curry involved as their sharpshooting guard had 23 points in the first quarter alone. He is the fourth Sixer to have 20+ points in a single quarter since 2010 and he knocked down six shots from deep to get the Sixers off to a good start.
He did not score again until late when he drilled his seventh triple to ice the win, but the fast start is exactly what Philadelphia needed to get back in the win column.
Coach Doc Rivers gave credit to the team in recognizing that Curry had it going early. Guys like Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris and others were making sure that their teammate was getting open looks to continue his hot shooting for the offense.
“They knew he had it going, they kept going to him, he kept making shots,” said Rivers. “It was really good. That’s a good thing that when m your team notices it, not just the coaching staff on the bench everyone noticed it and I thought Joel and Tobias, in particular, they were doing everything they could to get him in the right spot to get him shots, it was great. If he gets a look, it’s going in, or at least that’s how you feel.”
When Curry has it going like that, the Sixers are that much tougher to stop. Not only do teams have to worry about stopping Embiid, Harris, and even Tyrese Maxey, but they also have to be able to pay attention to Curry and make sure that he gets stopped as well. It opens up a lot for them.
“It was great,” Rivers added. “We didn’t go in with the game plan of getting Seth 28 or whatever he had in the first quarter, but I was saying that the team recognized that he had it going. That’s the sign of a good team. Like they see that he had it going and basically they were running Seth Curry lefts, Seth Curry right on post up to Joel, they’re cutting to get Seth shots, really great recognition by our group.”
The Sixers will now head to The Big Apple to take on the New York Knicks on Tuesday to conclude the two-game trip.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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