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Doczy: 01 Cze 2018 Posty: 436
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Wysany: 03-Wrz-2018 03:01:21 Temat postu: e just didn’t play good funda |
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The Philadelphia 76ers will go for a franchise-record 15th straight win Tuesday night against the Atlanta Hawks.
The 76ers (50-30) matched a team-best streak by beating the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. Their 50th victory of the season clinched home-court advantage in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Atlanta (24-57) defeated Boston on Sunday Menelik Watson Jersey , but it remains in last place in the East. The Hawks, beset by injuries in a rebuilding season, have the third-worst record in the NBA.
Philadelphia is one of the NBA’s surprise teams. The 76ers were expected to compete for a playoff spot, but they are in position to finish as high as third in the East.
Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said, “We are growing a culture. We’ve won 50 games and we have home-court advantage and we’ve tied a record. That’s true. But that is never really what’s most on my mind.”
And the 76ers have been without Joel Embiid, who averages a team-leading 22.9 points and 11 rebounds but has missed the last six games.
Brown said Embiid, out with a fractured orbital bone after a collision with teammate Markelle Fultz, might resume conditioning and shooting as soon as Monday. That could mean a return for the playoffs.
The 76ers are a deep scoring team, with seven players averaging double figures. J.J. Redick (17 points), Ben Simmons (16 points, 8.1 rebounds) and Robert Covington (12.8 points, 5.4 rebounds) have stepped up to pick up the slack since Embiid’s injury.
The addition of veterans Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova Samson Ebukam Jersey , both dumped by the Hawks in midseason, has solidified the rotation.
“This shows how far we’ve come this season,” Simmons said. “Everyone was putting us lower than expected. I think we pushed through the times. We had a tough start with the teams we’ve played. I think we got better over time.”
Atlanta, despite being without injured starters Kent Bazemore and Dennis Schroder, has continued to play hard for coach Mike Budenholzer. The Hawks have won two straight for only the second time this season and three of their last five.
“(The Boston win) is especially gratifying, knowing you have a couple impact players out and still be able to do what we do,” forward Taurean Prince said. “It’s good to see what we’re able to do, even without a full team.”
Prince has been a bright spot in a long season. He has given Atlanta a legitimate 3-point shooting threat. He made 7 of 8 3-pointers on Sunday and scored 33 points.
The second-year player has improved his numbers from his rookie year in almost every category. His scoring average has gone from 5.7 to 14 and his 3-point percentage from 32.4 to 38.7 percent. He has scored 30 points in five games.
The 76ers have won two previous meetings with the Hawks, both by 10 points. Philadelphia prevailed in its first visit to Atlanta on Nov. 1, then won March 30 in Philadelphia.
This will be the season finale for Atlanta. Philadelphia plays its last game on Wednesday at home against Milwaukee, which could be the 76ers’ first-round playoff opponent.
So many times this season, New England’s defense made plays when it had to give Tom Brady and the Patriots offense a chance to win.
But with the man responsible for the biggest defensive plays in Patriots’ Super Bowl history watching from the bench Ronnie Harrison Jersey , it couldn’t figure out the Philadelphia Eagles in a 41-33 loss Super Bowl loss on Sunday.
Malcolm Butler, whose interception in the end zone sealed New England’s Super win over Seattle in the 2015 Super Bowl, didn’t play a defensive snap on Sunday.
Bill Belichick said only that they ”put the best players in the game plan like we always do.” Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia said Butler was in parts of the game plan, but those parts weren’t used in the game.
Butler missed a day of practice last week with an illness. He warmed up and was in uniform, but watched the game’s biggest moments from the sideline. It was the first Patriots game in which Butler did not play a first quarter snap since their Super Bowl win over Seattle to cap the 2014 season. He started 17 of New England’s previous 18 games entering Sunday, including both playoff victories.
He seemed exasperated afterward, telling reporters: ”I ain’t got nothing to say.”
Without him, New England’s defense – and particular the secondary – had trouble keeping Foles and Philadelphia’s offense in check.
New England allowed 41 points, more than they have given up in any Super Bowl in the Belichick era. It also surrendered 538 total yards, including 373 through the air to MVP Nick Foles. LeGarrette Blount, a former Patriots running back, rushed 14 times for 90 yards and touchdown.
Eric Rowe started in Butler’s place. He struggled early Tyler Ervin Jersey , giving up three catches for 66 yards, including Foles’ first touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery.
Butler’s teammates seemed confused by the change, which cornerback Stephon Gilmore said they didn’t find out until game time.
”Could he have helped us out? I don’t know. He wasn’t out there, so I don’t know,” Gilmore said. ”We just couldn’t never get off the field. I mean, we could never make a play to give the ball back out our offense.”
The Eagles punted only once in the game and converted on a pair of fourth downs.
The Patriots offense did its part. It didn’t punt and had no turnovers through three quarters. After playing from behind most of the night, Brady gave New England its first lead of the game, 33-32 on a 4-yard touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski with 9:22 to play.
But when the Patriots needed a hero late, no one was able to make a big play.
And on the ensuing drive New England safety Devin McCourty couldn’t keep Zach Ertz from stretching the ball across the goal line for an 11-yard touchdown reception from Foles that wound up being the game winner .
The Patriots entered the game with 159-15 record, including a perfect 16-0 in the playoffs, when they had won the turnover battle.
They had the first one of the night, on an interception by safety Duron Harmon in the first half.
But it wasn’t enough.
Philadelphia used some trickery Darqueze Dennard Jersey , facing fourth-and-goal on the 1 with less than a minute to play in the half.
After a timeout, the Eagles got the ball to Trey Burton on a reverse, who flipped a pass to a wide-open Foles for a touchdown.
New England pulled to within 22-19 after scoring on the opening drive of the second half.
The Patriots defense would break down again, though, this time letting Corey Clement get behind Marquis Flowers and McCourty for an over the shoulder 22-yard catch in the back of the end zone.
Safety Patrick Chung was shaken up on that play and missed a few series. He returned to action in the fourth quarter but had to leave again late in the game with a head injury.
”There was nothing we hadn’t seen. We just didn’t play good fundamentally,” Rowe said.
He said Butler was a presence on the sideline even though he didn’t play.
”After that first touchdown he just came up to me and was like `Keep playing. Keep your head up. It’s a long way. It’s a long game.’ So he wasn’t upset,” Rowe said. ”He was being a great teammate.”
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