All of Philadelphia’s hard work for 3.5 quarters appeared to be for nought when Jalen Brunson hit a difficult wing three with under two minutes to play, pulling the Knicks in front of the Sixers for the first time all night. It was reminiscent of some battles between these teams from the recent past, the Sixers wearing down against a battle-tested opponent with a big-time shotmaker.
Those previous meetings, however, did not feature LeBron James. And on the very next play, the ball was left in his capable and experienced hands, with James backing down the best New York has to offer on defense. With all-world defender OG Anunoby hanging on his back, James went to a simple paint fadeaway, gently dropping the ball in to put the Sixers back in front for good.
“[The Knicks] have kind of made an art out of pulling those out, so I think it was very important that we answered immediately,” Nick Nurse said after the game. “It was a pretty good shot and a pretty quick answer to take the lead right back. That’s always huge just momentum-wise.”
It would have been a fitting capper for LeBron’s best offensive evening in Philly to date, but he managed to sneak one more impact play in, slithering along the baseline from the dunker spot for an offensive rebound that pushed their lead to five. James was visibly excited as he ran back to the bench, twirling in circles down the floor before sticking a playful tongue out at his teammates on the bench.
He has, by all accounts, brought levity to the locker room without compromising their competitiveness. After their victory over the Cavs, LeBron’s (slightly surreal) final words before leaving the building were “See ya later, alligators,” a reminder that all-time regular season comebacks and hard-fought victories in the NBA Cup are silly little footnotes in a decades-long career. As the Sixers have battled to put together a 5-1 start in the opening week-and-a-half of the season, the Sixers have constantly cited him as a source of calm under the bright lights and away from the cameras.
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