"Best and "Worst" awards: Sixers vs. Pelicans
For the first time this year, the 76ers never trailed during Friday's 96-81 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. It was arguably their most impressive win of the year, even considering that New Orleans played without injured center Anthony Davis and point guard Jrue Holiday. Here is our best and worst performances from the game.
Best performance: Nerlens Noel had 17 points, 11 rebounds, five blocked shots and two steals in nearly 33 minutes. He shot 7 for 10 from the field, 3 for 4 from the foul line and committed no turnovers. Noel now has five double-doubles this season. Coach Brett Brown said it was his best game as a 76er.
Worst Performance: Pelicans forward Ryan Anderson is known for his shooting ability, but he went just 2 for 11 including 1 of 4 from beyond the arc. Anderson also had two turnovers and no assists in more than 34 minutes. Runnerup is local product Tyreke Evans, who ran the point in Holiday's absence and had seven turnovers and six assists. He also scored eight points, but only took seven shots.
Best defensive performance: That would go to Noel. Not only did he block five shots but he altered many others. Noel challenged many shots and only committed two fouls.
Best performance in by a Sixer (other than Noel): Michael Carter-Williams had 22 points, six rebounds and seven assists. He shot 9 for 19 from the field and hit 1 of 3 from beyond the arc. He has now scored 20 or more points in three consecutive games for the first time in his career. Carter-Williams did have three turnovers, but also added three steals.
Worst statistic: The Pelicans shot 4 for 17 (23.5 percent) from three-point range. New Orleans had several good looks, but just couldn't consistently connect.
Most impressive stat: The Sixers had zero turnovers between 1:18 of the first quarter to 3:40 of the third, a total of 21 minutes and 38 seconds. Staying on the turnover theme, the Sixers turned the ball over just 10 times, while forcing 20.
Fast fact: The Sixers have now held opponents below 90 points eight times this season after doing so just twice in 2013-2014.
Fast fact II: The Sixers scored a season-high 33 points in the first quarter.
Quotable: "He imposes himself on the game and he did it all over the place." – Sixers coach Brett Brown on Noel.