Instant Replay: Sixers 93, Timberwolves 91

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The man who had been booed all night — and for a good number of games this season — was the hero on Tuesday.

Robert Covington scored the game-winning shot to give the Sixers a 93-91 victory over the Timberwolves after his team blew a 26-point lead. Covington lost his defender on a screen from Joel Embiid and got open for an inbound lob from Dario Saric with 0.2 remaining on the clock.

The Sixers (barely) escaped with the win, avenging their embarrassing 24-point loss in November.

The crowd had reacted negatively to Covington’s long-range shooting struggles, which included 1 for 9 from three. He finished with a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double.

In the highly-anticipated battle of the bigs, Joel Embiid scored 25 points (8 for 20 from the field, 1 for 3 from three, 8 for 11 from the line), grabbed eight rebounds, dished three assists and blocked two shots in 29:49. Karl-Anthony Towns dropped 23 points (9 for 22 from the field, 1 for 6 from three, 4 for 4 from the line), 15 boards, five assists and two blocks in 37:27. 

Inside the stats
• Zach LaVine led all players with 28 points.

• Ersan Ilyasova contributed 19 points and five rebounds in the starting lineup.

• The Sixers’ lone healthy point guard, T.J. McConnell, had a well-rounded six points, seven rebounds and eight assists. 

Another brief sighting
Embiid and Nerlens Noel were paired together for three minutes and 45 seconds at the start of the second quarter. 

“What you have in those two is you have rim protection,” Brown said of their biggest strength as a duo. 

The Sixers outscored the Timberwolves 7-4 while they were on the court together. Embiid blocked a shot and made a layup, three-pointer and a pair of free throws during that stretch. Noel was scoreless. Brown didn’t extend the experiment into the second half. 

Injury updates
Gerald Henderson (left hip soreness), Sergio Rodriguez (left ankle sprain) and Richaun Holmes (concussion protocol) all missed the game. Rodriguez, who tried to go through practice on Monday, expects to play Friday against the Celtics. Holmes also expects to be cleared to play in Boston. Tuesday was his final day of the NBA’s concussion protocol schedule. 

Up next
The Sixers will hit the road for two games: Friday night against the Celtics and a Sunday matinee against the Nets. 

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