Observations after Sixers find another gear in 2nd half to top Timberwolves

The Sixers roared into a higher gear in the second half to surge past the Timberwolves and earn a 115-103 win Friday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena. 

The win ensured the Sixers stayed in sixth place (and out of the play-in tournament places) in the Eastern Conference standings. At the final buzzer, the seventh-seeded Raptors held an 18-point halftime lead over the Grizzlies. Toronto would join the Sixers at 43-34 with a victory. 

Paul George’s 23 points led the Sixers. Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 21 apiece.

Joel Embiid had 19 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.

Bones Hyland and Julius Randle each posted 21 points for the T-Wolves, who fell to 46-31.

The Sixers will conclude their back-to-back by hosting the Pistons on Saturday night. Here are observations their win over Minnesota:

Exemplary Barlow start 

VJ Edgecombe scored the game’s first basket with a slick fadeaway jumper. George put the Sixers up 5-1 when he swished a three-pointer after Dominick Barlow grabbed an offensive rebound and kicked the ball out. 

Barlow had an excellent, typically scrappy opening stint that included three offensive boards, four defensive rebounds, five points on 2-for-3 shooting and sturdy defensive work against Julius Randle. Not that Sixers head coach Nick Nurse needs it, but Barlow provided further evidence Friday that he’s a viable starting option in the postseason. 

Embiid was back in the Sixers’ starting lineup after missing the team’s victory Wednesday over the Wizards with an illness. He didn’t look anywhere near his peak level at the start of the game. 

The Sixers’ star big man was slow to run up the floor and join the offense a couple of times in the first quarter. He began 0 for 4 from the floor, had a three-point attempt blocked by Naz Reid and turned the ball over on a casual first-quarter outlet pass. 

Bones brings it 

The Timberwolves started 4 for 26 from the field and 1 for 13 from three-point range.

Minnesota only mustered 17 points in the first quarter … and trailed by just two entering the second. Not the finest quarter for either offense.

Hyland gave the T-Wolves a serious spark in the second quarter. 

A native of Wilmington, Delaware, Hyland had gleeful reactions to just about every positive play. He made three long-range jumpers in the second quarter, helped Minnesota build a lead as high as nine points, and posted a team-high 14 in the first half. Hyland’s outing brought back memories of his 21-point performance as a rookie in the Nuggets’ March 2022 win over the Sixers. 

Meanwhile, Embiid shot 1 for 10 from the floor in the first half and the Sixers went 2 for 13 beyond the arc.

Embiid-Drummond pair does the trick

George was by far the most productive Sixer in the first half. 

He did much of his damage before halftime as an aggressive driver. George reached double-digit free throw attempts early in the third quarter. He took a season-high 10 foul shots in the game and made eight. 

Embiid hit a mid-range shot on his first attempt of the second half. The Sixers gained momentum during a stretch in which T-Wolves superstar Anthony Edwards missed a wide-open dunk. Embiid’s jumper cut the Sixers’ deficit to one point and a fast-break Edgecombe jam pushed the team into the lead. 

Fatigue was surely a factor on the second night of a back-to-back for the Timberwolves, who had an eight-man rotation until Terrence Shannon Jr. subbed in late in the third quarter.

Nurse’s fourth man off the bench was quite surprising. 

Andre Drummond subbed in with 2:04 to go in the third quarter and played next to Embiid. The Drummond-Embiid frontcourt minutes went extremely well for the Sixers. Two Quentin Grimes fast-break layups gave the Sixers an 83-71 lead. Drummond didn’t drain threes or make tons of highlight plays, but he was solid on both ends of the floor. The veteran big man ended up with four points and six rebounds in nine minutes.

Nurse had hinted pregame at still having a few rotation ideas he wanted to explore before the postseason. Perhaps Drummond-Embiid minutes were one of them.

The Sixers expanded their lead early in the fourth quarter with Embiid and Maxey on the bench. George drilled two threes to extend their advantage to 99-82.

The Maxey-Embiid duo subbed back in with a little under five minutes left and the Sixers holding a 14-point lead. Minnesota hung around, but the Sixers ultimately secured a winning start to their back-to-back without much late-game drama. Oubre canned a pair of threes down the stretch to ice the win.