'Best' & 'Worst' awards: Sixers vs. Bobcats
My look at some of the best and worst performances and happenings from the 76ers' 95-92 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday at Wells Fargo Center:
Best performance: This is a tough one, because Thaddeus Young made the game-winning three-pointer. That shot was huge. But the Sixers would not have been in position to win without Evan Turner. That's why the 6-foot-7 swingman – not Young – wins this award. Turner scored 11 of his team-high 23 points in the fourth quarter. He also finished the game with seven rebounds, four assists, a steal and four turnovers.
Worst performance: This goes to Gerald Henderson. Let's just say this was far from a happy homecoming for the former Episcopal Academy standout. The Bobcats shooting guard missed his first nine shot attempts en route to finishing with eight points on 2-for-14 shooting. A large portion of his attempts were awful selections.
Best performance in a losing effort: This is a tough one, because Al Jefferson dominated when he wanted to. But Kemba Walker's game highs of 26 points and eight assists are hard to overlook. So that's why the Bobcats point guard edges out the center. Walker made all six of his foul shots, grabbed five rebounds, had two steals, a blocked shot and just one turnover in 42 minutes.
Best defensive performance: Sixers newcomer Dewayne Dedmon gets this award. The 7-foot, 255-pounder had a team-high two blocked shots in 14 minutes. All seven of his rebounds came on the defensive end. I would like to see what Dedmon, who is on a 10-day contract, can do with extended minutes.
Worst statistic: How can you not give this to the Sixers' free-throw shooting? They made just 55 percent (11 of 20) of their foul shots.
Best statistic: This award goes to the Sixers' second-quarter shooting. They shot 64.7 percent (11 of 17) en route to outscoring the Bobcats, 29-18, in the quarter. All that led to them taking a 36-21 advantage into second quarter.
Worst of the Worst: This award goes to the Bobcats' defense on Young's game-winning shot. The power forward was left wide open as Josh McRoberts, who was supposed to be guarding him, trailed Michael Carter-Williams along with Walker. The Sixers point guard dished the ball to Young, who drained the WIDE OPEN three-pointer.
Best quote: "I don't know what they are thinking when they both ran to Mike. I was kind of like wide open. And I was like, 'I'm making this shot,' " Young said of the game-winning play.
- Keith Pompey
Follow and contact Inquirer 76ers beat writer Keith Pompey on Twitter @PompeyOnSixers