With the NBA in an indefinite hiatus due to COVID-19, we continue our day-by-day look back at the history of the Philadelphia 76ers. We continue down our path into Sixers history every day as we look to fill the void left by the absence of basketball.
The Sixers were facing elimination in 2018. After knocking off the Miami Heat fairly easily in Round 1, they ran into the Boston Celtics in Round 2 and they found themselves down 0-3 after letting a few games slip away. With the crowd of Philadelphia behind them and facing a desperate situation, coach Brett Brown benched Robert Covington in favor of T.J. McConnell and that was the winning formula for the Sixers on this night.
May 7, 2018
The Sixers were on the brink. The Celtics combination of Terry Rozier, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Al Horford bothered the young Sixers to no end and they needed to figure it out. Desperate times call for desperate measures as Brown made a controversial move by benching a First Team All-Defender in favor of the sparkplug McConnell. It turned out to be the right move.
The spunky guard out of Arizona went for 19 points on 9-for-12 shooting, eight rebounds, and five assists to lead the Sixers to a season-saving 103-92 win over Boston to at least keep the season alive for the time being. Dario Saric led Philadelphia with 25 points, but it was McConnell who made the huge difference the entire game in this one.
The fans chanted “T.J.! T.J.!” throughout the entire fourth quarter and they did so for a guy who has certainly earned his stripes and his time here in Philadelphia. He told reporters postgame:
It was a pretty special moment. I think we have the best fans in the NBA. They’ve been here through the dark times and they’ve certainly been here on our rise.
The Sixers would live for another day, but it would soon come to an end as they fell to the Celtics back in Boston in Game 5. They were close, but they were not able to overcome a tough Celtics team on the road. [lawrence-related id=30622,30611,30601]