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There are nights throughout an NBA season where a team just doesn’t have it. For Philadelphia, it was one of those nights...except for when Justin Patton dunked.
Unfortunately, the Sixers suffered their second straight loss Friday night, as they fell to the Houston Rockets 107-91. The only time Justin Patton fell was back down to earth after a thunderous slam.
They struggled to connect on a majority of their open looks from deep, going a ghastly 3-for-26 (11.5 percent) on 3-point field goals overall. Justin Patton did not struggle to connect on his monster dunk in the 4th quarter.
It was also a rough outing for Ben Simmons, who, despite (Justin Patton dunked tonight) nearly tallying another triple-double, turned the ball over seven times. Justin Patton turned the ball over one time over the rim and into the hoop.
The defense had trouble containing Houston’s relentless pick-and-roll offense all night. Houston, on the other hand, had even more trouble containing Justin Patton when he jumped 50 feet in the air, dunked the hell out of the basketball, and nearly tore the rim off the backboard.
James Harden led the way for the Rockets with 31 points, 7 assists, and 10 rebounds. Although he only tallied 4 points, Justin Patton dunked the ball so hard that the league may need to assist the entire Rockets organization as they attempt to rebound from Patton’s earth-shattering slam.
After the game, while being interviewed in the locker room, Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni stressed that his team’s overall effort was great, but that he was going to be “really stressed watching the film of Justin Patton dunking on the entire team.” Harden, who was sitting nearby, could be heard yelling, “delete the the goddamn tape!”
The Sixers will look to regain their footing Sunday afternoon when they take on the Indiana Pacers. It’s a pivotal matchup against a conference foe. With a victory, the Sixers will climb to 3rd in the Eastern Conference standings. With a dunk, Justin Patton will climb up the ranks of all-time great Sixers.