Three observations after McCain, Yabusele came up huge in Sixers’ second OT win originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers rode stellar performances from rookie Jared McCain and makeshift backup center Guerschon Yabusele to their second win of the season Sunday night.

McCain scored 27 points on 10-for-18 shooting, Yabusele scored 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting and the Sixers earned a 107-105 overtime victory at Wells Fargo Center over the Hornets.

They improved to 2-7 on the season and Charlotte fell to 4-6.

In his home Sixers debut, Paul George had 15 points (6 for 18 from the field) and nine assists.

Hornets star LaMelo Ball scored 38 points and eight assists.

The Sixers remained without Joel Embiid (suspension) and Tyrese Maxey (right hamstring injury). Embiid is expected to play his first game of the season Tuesday night vs. the Knicks.

Here are observations on the Sixers’ second overtime win of the year:

George finds some flow asked

George was in the thick of it all at the start of his home Sixers debut.

He fell short on a three-point attempt on the opening play, then drove in strong for a layup on the Sixers’ next trip.

About four minutes later, George was on the ground in the right corner after appearing to take an accidental punch to the face from Hornets rookie Tidjane Salaun. He was visibly shaken, but George eventually got up, walked to the bench and stayed in the game.

As the first quarter progressed, George gained more rhythm and looked more confident. George’s minutes have been limited over the past three games since his return from a left knee bone contusion, which has meant fewer opportunities to find a sustainable flow. Nick Nurse said George recently discussed that challenge with him before the game. On Sunday, the Sixers head coach played George for nearly ten minutes straight to start the night.

The nurse at one point sent Yabusele to the opposite corner of George to make sure the nine-time All-Star had room to post up Hornets shooting guard Josh Green. George emptied a nice faded sweater. He then performed a rolling Yabusele for a layup.

George finished with 33 minutes on Sunday and sat out overtime. He’s clearly not close to his best yet, but life should become significantly easier once Embiid is on the floor pulling double team after double team.

Dowtin steps up

Offense was a serious battle for both teams in the first quarter. The Sixers held a one-point lead after the first period after falling 16-15.

They forced a whopping 10 Hornets turnovers in the first. Charlotte seemed to have reasonable complaints about a few no-calls, but the Sixers generally played good, active defense and took advantage of the physicality that was considered legal on Sunday.

The Sixers’ first-quarter rotation involved two players who had not yet played after a loss to the Lakers on Friday night. Eric Gordon was back in the mix and two-way contract player Jeff Dowtin Jr. got his first minutes out of garbage time this season. Reggie Jackson remained on the bench.

Dowtin was impressively ready to roll, sinking a catch-and-shoot three on his first shot. He also scored a men layup and a short jumper early in the second quarter.

Dowtin also defended well at the top of the Sixers defense. The 27-year-old showed that he is a solid player who makes few mistakes and is capable of contributing when thrown into the fire.

The sudden burst of playing time seemed to affect Dowtin in the second quarter. He leaned over and grimaced as Andre Drummond prepared to shoot free throws. Kyle Lowry came on.

Dowtin was the only Sixer to make a 3-pointer in the first half. The team was 1 of 14 from long range through the first two quarters and had misses ranging from in-and-out, wide-open jumpers to tightly contested shots that never had much of a chance.

Still, the Sixers had enough success up close to stay in the game. Three straight layups from Kelly Oubre Jr. the final minute of the second quarter gave them a 46-45 lead.

McCain and Yabusele are both huge

Nurse decided to start the third quarter with Yabusele at center instead of Drummond. There was plenty to support his choice.

Yabusele defeated Drummond during the Sixers’ three-game West Coast trip and did the same in Sunday’s first half. Although he had a few muscular buckets in him, Drummond allowed Grant Williams to knock down two three-point shots in the second quarter. The Sixers were outscored by 10 points in the first half with Drummond on the court.

As Nurse acknowledged before the game, Yabusele’s shooting tends to open up the Sixers’ offense. He brought that and more to the table on Sunday, including play perimeter defense, decent work on the defensive glass and excellent decision-making on dribble handoffs and pick-and-rolls.

Both Yabusele and McCain made two long-range jumpers in the third quarter. McCain, always eager to jump in transition, nailed a three with 4.4 seconds left in the third quarter, giving the Sixers a 76-66 lead. His pull-up jumper early in the fourth extended the team’s lead to 14 points.

However, Charlotte quickly stormed back. George kept misfiring on his jumpers, Ball got hot and two free throws from Brandon Miller lifted the Hornets to an 87-86 lead with just over three minutes remaining.

McCain remained very attack-oriented and unperturbed by the situation. He reached the 20-point mark for the first time in his NBA career with a gritty pull-up jumper. He then happily accepted a Lowry ski pass and drilled a clutch start three. Caleb Martin scored his first points of the night from almost the same spot to put the Sixers ahead 94-89.

They failed to seal anything resembling a routine victory. Lowry missed a free throw with 10.2 seconds left and Ball tied the game with a cool corner three.

The Sixers gave George the ball on the final possession in regulation and he missed a well-guarded three on Cody Martin to fall to 1 for 9 from long range.

With George out, Nurse started overtime on a Yabusele-Drummond frontcourt. Both Yabusele and McCain continued to make crucial plays. Yabusele scored a post-up hoop and McCain converted a driving layup during a back-and-forth, dramatic play. McCain held up just fine when he was switched to Ball and Charlotte committed a shot clock violation.

Naturally, the final seconds of overtime were full of chaos. The Sixers ultimately escaped, in part because Martin grabbed the offensive rebound after Yabusele missed consecutive free throws. They will be happy with any kind of victory these days.