Covington’s game-winner seals deal for Sixers in comeback vs. Blazers

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By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly Staff

Well, it seemed like it was all over. Until Robert Covington's three pointer with four seconds left took the lead and the Sixers walked out of the night with a 93-92 come from behind victory against the Portland Trail Blazers.

It wasn't an easy path to victory, however, as the Sixers trailed for most of the first half all the way up until halftime. The Sixers pulled closer to the Blazers in the third quarter, when it became a one point game by the very end.

In the fourth quarter, the game stayed close until Covington hit a three pointer with about 40 seconds to play in the ballgame, and then the game winner at the very end.

The win is good all in all for the Sixers, however a scary moment ensued with 7:02 to play in the third quarter. Joel Embiid went for the dunk with the Sixers trailing by seven points, and nailed the dunk over Mason Plumlee, however, he slipped on the landing and hurt his knee in the process. Embiid exited the game with some help and limped to the locker room. He was later diagnosed with a knee contusion. It's likely that Embiid will be kept out of tomorrow night's game anyway, but he could also miss additional time as well.

By the end of the game, after Covington's three to win it, Embiid was out on the court celebrating with his teammates, as well as the victory following Plumlee's layup miss.

For the game Embiid finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and four blocks. Embiid failed to score 20 points, which snaps his streak at 10 games.

Covington finished with 22 points, had six boards, a steal, a block, and went 5-of-12 from beyond the arc, including two three-pointers with 40 seconds to play.

Ersan Ilyasova led the Sixers in scoring with 24 points, and reeled off 5-of-6 from long range.

For the Blazers, they were led by Damian Lillard, unsurprisingly, who had 30 points, but missed the shot that led to Ro-Co's game-winner. C.J. McCollum followed with 16 points.

Mason Plumlee had a pretty good looking game despite the missed layup at the end, with 14 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double.

For the 76ers, the win is their eighth win in their last 10 games, and they have now won three in a row. The loss of Embiid could prove to be huge, and one can hope that the injury isn't serious enough to have him miss a significant amount of time.

The Sixers will look to go for four straight wins and nine of their last 11 games as they take on the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night on the road at 7 p.m. ET.

 

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