Jared McCain, Guerschon Yabusele save 76ers in overtime win vs. Charlotte

Gina Mizell: Sixers 107, Hornets 105 in OT. Big nights from Jared McCain (27 points) and Guerschon Yabusele (20 and 8) off the bench. Paul George with 15 and 9 assists in his first home game, which was capped at 33 minutes and no OT. Sixers are 2-7 and next have a tough back-to-back against the Knicks and Cavs.

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Austin Krell NBAKrell Jared McCain has connected on 1 less three than Dalton Knecht has on 10 fewer attempts thus far in their rookie season. – 8:56 PM Adam Aaronson SixersAdam Jared McCain dives on the floor for a loose ball, blows by Seth Curry and pulls up for a mid-range jumper. Up to 16 points on 6-9 shooting... – 8:56 PM Adam Aaronson SixersAdam Jared McCain just knows how to score. Follows up a one-handed scoop layup with a transition three to end the third quarter. He has 14 points in as many minutes (5-8 FG, 2-5 3P). Sixers lead Charlotte after three, 76-66. – 8:51 PM Adam Aaronson SixersAdam Two more threes for Guerschon Yabusele, who might be one of the best minimum signings in NBA free agency this year. Yabusele has 18 points and six rebounds (7-9 FG, 2-3 3P, 2-2 FT) and is a team-high +18 in 18 minutes. – 8:45 PM Derek Bodner DerekBodnerNBA Guerschon Yabusele starting the 2nd half over Andre Drummond is interesting. Individually, I thought Drummond played decently in the 2nd quarter. But the Sixers were -11 in Drummond's minutes, and have been bleeding points (-20.7 net rating) with Drummond on the court so far – 8:30 PM Adam Aaronson SixersAdam Guerschon Yabusele is starting the second half ahead of Andre Drummond. Drummond mostly played well in the first half, but the Sixers still played poorly with him on the floor. They made up for it during Yabusele's minutes. – 8:27 PM Austin Krell NBAKrell George played 10 straight minutes before being relieved by Jared McCain. Good sign of where he is physically. An attempt at basketball is being made by both sides. Hornets keep throwing passes directly at the Sixers. Sixers keep dribbling the ball off of people. Ain't pretty. – 7:39 PM Austin Krell NBAKrell Looks like Paul George might be getting his minutes extended a little bit early in this one. Also of note: Eric Gordon seemingly getting minutes over Jared McCain early on. – 7:23 PM Adam Aaronson SixersAdam Eric Gordon checks in as one of the Sixers' first two subs tonight. He is ahead of Jared McCain tonight, at least in terms of entering the game. – 7:21 PM Adam Aaronson SixersAdam New: To preview Sixers-Hornets, I talked to about the long-term outlook of a LaMelo Ball-led team, a Hornet who the Sixers could see as a trade target + Brian's experience covering Jared McCain at Duke. The spread of this game is jarring: phillyvoice.com/sixers-vs-horn... – 9:07 AM Adam Aaronson SixersAdam I spent some time with Guerschon Yabusele during the Sixers' road trip to talk about settling back into the NBA, emerging as a valuable part of the Sixers + the support of his friend Nico Batum. "He earned a chance to be back in the league," Batum said. phillyvoice.com/sixers-news-an... – 10:52 AM Adam Aaronson SixersAdam New: A host of quotes from Nick Nurse's presser after the Sixers' loss to the Lakers last night on the rotation changes he made, Paul George talks about his night + continued learning with a new team & Jared McCain tells a heartwarming story. Loaded one: phillyvoice.com/sixers-news-an... – 10:47 AM Adam Aaronson SixersAdam California native Jared McCain had family in attendance tonight. During the game, he said, LeBron James pulled him aside and told him he recognized McCain's parents in the crowd. "Keep going," James told him. McCain called playing against James "insane," among other things. – 1:22 AM Austin Krell NBAKrell Some good moments for Jared McCain and KJ Martin, but no Joel Embiid or Tyrese Maxey, no juice. The Sixers are 1-7: onpattison.com/news/2024/nov/... – 12:52 AM Tony Jones Tjonesonthenba The sixers fall to the lakers 116-106.... Philly falls to 1-7 on the season. The sixers and the Utah Jazz are tied for the worst record in the NBA. Rookie Jared McCain leads Philadelphia with 18 points.....the sixers lose all three on this trip. They now return home – 12:30 AM Adam Aaronson SixersAdam Guerschon Yabusele has set a career-high for three-pointers made in an NBA season. (He is 17 minutes into the eighth game of the season) – 10:50 PM Tony Jones Tjonesonthenba I like Jared McCain. Fearless and tough and skilled dude. Needs to be in the rotation fulltime – 10:50 PM

More on this storyline

"It is too early to say because I have only played one game, but I always say that some of the best EuroLeague teams can compete with some NBA teams, for sure," he mentioned after his first official game with the Sixers, "I am not saying the best teams [in the NBA]." "'They are two different leagues," continued the French forward, "Being able to play for Real Madrid for three years and competing in those arenas against other teams and players, I gained a lot of experience. And feeling how it is on the court playing against tough teams helped a lot." -via EuroHoops.net / October 25, 2024 Yabusele's dreams of returning to the NBA came true, as he was able to exercise his clause in his Real Madrid contract to sign with Philadelphia. Yabusele left his belongings in storage in Madrid and says Real Madrid is interested in him rejoining the club in the future . -via Andscape / October 18, 2024 "It was always something that I had in my mind, too," Yabusele said of returning to the NBA. "I didn't want to give up. Of course, after five years I was like, 'Damn, I feel like some of the years I was doing good.' I thought maybe I will have a shot and then I didn't. But I always had that hope and that's what gets me going, too. That give me a purpose to do all of that [work]. I was always pushing myself to try to come back." -via Andscape / October 18, 2024 After the game, James presented McCain with a signed No. 23 game jersey. This came two games after Phoenix Suns perennial All-NBA forward Kevin Durant presented the 20-year-old with his Suns game jersey. "I feel like I say it every single game," McCain said. "Every game is like a dream come true. Obviously, we're trying to win every game and every possession. We're trying to get a stop. But I always look back like five years ago [and] think about what I would have thought [and] how I'm feeling [currently]." -via The Philadelphia Inquirer / November 9, 2024 In the fourth quarter of Friday's game, LeBron James had a moment with 76ers rookie guard Jared McCain at the foul line. The Lakers star and the NBA's best player in this era tapped McCain on his side and said something. McCain, with his $1 million smile, responded "Thank you." "He actually recognized my parents were in the crowd," McCain said. "He was like, 'I see them over there. Keep going.' Just cool to see someone — again, each is like someone I've watched for so long, especially him." -via The Philadelphia Inquirer / November 9, 2024 Jordan Brand just added four young NBA ballers to its athlete roster. The namesake brand of NBA icon Michael Jordan announced via Instagram late Friday that it has welcomed rookies Jared McCain, Dalton Knecht, Stephon Castle and Ja'Kobe Walter to its family. "Signed. Sealed. Now We Deliver," the caption announcing the signings read. -via Footwear News / October 29, 2024