WASHINGTON — The Philadelphia 76ers paid a visit to the Washington Wizards on Saturday night to begin a quick 2-game road trip looking to get moving in the right direction again. The Sixers entered the night losers of eight of their last nine and needed a win in the worst way.
They were able to get one as they knocked off the Wizards 119-113 on the road. Tyrese Maxey led the way with 28 points, but rookie Ricky Council IV hopped off the bench and poured in 19 points and 10 rebounds in 29:11 of playing time to give the Sixers a huge boost.
After a big night, including scoring seven big points in the fourth quarter, Council IV discussed his big night.
“Unreal right now,” Council IV said after the win. “I mean, I’m just glad I got the opportunity to be out there and was trusting me in big moments. Once you’re out there, it’s pretty simple. Just play hard and be yourself and since we got the new guys, we’re not really running a lot more of our advanced sets. We’re keeping it simple right now so it makes it even easier for me because I know all those plays.”
The rookie had no idea he would even play many minutes in this one. He was expecting a large number of minutes on Friday when he expected the Sixers to be down so many pieces. Not the case in that one nor on Saturday.
“Oh, I had no idea,” he laughed. “Last night, I mean, I think I played like six minutes. I mean, I was really ready, really hungry because I knew the situation with the trades going on, they might not even play so I knew there’s no way I’m not playing. I end up playing, like, six minutes. So I didn’t know what was gonna happen today. I just always stay ready.”
Good thing for the Sixers Council IV did stay ready. They maybe don’t win that game if he doesn’t.
[lawrence-related id=90358,90338,90333]