More PHL•News•Sixers•Unique Columns
Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
If you were one of the thousands of area basketball fans who could hardly wait for the start of the 76ers season after the team signed Lebron James in July — then the start of local contests at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Thursday evening was for you. In fact — it had a little something for everyone.
Less than 24 hours before tip-off and President Trump’s criticism of James during the National Anthem in Madison Square Garden went viral — and just days after the Sixers (2–0) defeated the defending Champions in New York to open the season — Philadelphia returned to play in front of its home fans for the first time.
Former middleweight boxing champion and hometown hero Bernard Hopkins rang the bell to open the Sixers season at home — which didn’t go as planned in the first as Philly fell behind the Cleveland Caviliers in the first half.
But then we had the second half — where the Sixers made us erase all of our concerns about the Eagles with a tremendous comeback — outscoring Cleveland 69–37 in the last two quarters to mark Lebron’s largest comeback in his career to win 114–106.
The Sixers all-star lineup delivered in the 3rd and 4th quarters — James had seventeen points in the win, Tyrese Maxey had 32, Joel Embiid contributed twenty-four points, and Jaylen Brown finished with twenty-one.
Some eight years after Lebron James nearly came to Philadelphia the first time via free agency — the Sixers completed one of the top comebacks in franchise history against the team that originally drafted him. It turns out that the excitement that began in the heat of the summer transitioning to a start in cool October weather to begin the Sixers season was well worth the wait.
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Categorized:More PHL News Sixers Unique Columns
