As usual, Dario Saric was overshadowed Monday night.
He scored a playoff-best 25 points on 9 for 17 shooting and posted eight rebounds and four assists. However, the Sixers’ 103-92 Game 4 win (see observations) over the Celtics will likely always be remembered as The T.J. McConnell Game. McConnell was the unquestioned, improbable star, starting in place of Robert Covington and posting a career-high 19 points, along with seven rebounds and five assists (see story).
After the win, Saric sounded happy to cede the spotlight to his teammate and good friend McConnell.
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“I try to talk all the time to him — ‘You need to be ready, one game you need to show up and be ready for it,’” Saric said. “And that was this game, but I believe he can repeat this in the next games.”
While Game 4 was all about McConnell, Saric’s scoring was a massive boost for the Sixers. He’d been ineffective for the first three games of the series, averaging 12.3 points and shooting just 37.1 percent. Early on, it didn’t look like Monday night was going to be any different.
Saric scored just two points in the first quarter, missing his first four field goal attempts. As a team, the Sixers struggled to score in that first period, scoring 21 points on 32 percent shooting. It was hard to see where offense was going to come from.
Fortunately for the Sixers, Saric and McConnell were the two big answers. McConnell was brilliant all night, pushing the pace and finding space to operate in the paint, while Saric showcased his typical mix of gritty postups, offensive rebounds (four) and mid-range jumpers. Both played with the kind of intensity and desperation the Sixers needed on the brink of elimination.
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“After you’re down 3-0, you just come on the court, fight, try to follow the game plan, and we did it,” Saric said.
It’s obviously great for the Sixers that Saric’s effort was finally rewarded with an excellent offensive night. And anyone who tells you they knew McConnell was not only going to start but have a career high is either a liar or a legitimate psychic.
The only downside is that other players will also need to start making some of the shots they did during the team’s stretch of 20 wins in 21 games if the Sixers have any hope of coming back to win this series. Outside of Saric and McConnell, the Sixers shot 30.7 percent in Game 4. Covington, Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova combined to shoot 4 for 24.
That said, the Sixers need Saric at his best to win the next three games, and he delivered Monday. Head coach Brett Brown has said that the most important thing the Sixers need to do if the team wants to make history is maintain its spirit (see story). Saric (and, of course, McConnell) embodied that fighting spirit he’s looking for Monday night.
“I think there was a toughness not that dissimilar to T.J. … those types of people that care for their teammates, they’re proud to be a Philadelphia 76er — it means something — are priceless,” Brown said. “And both of those guys tonight really showed that type of spirit.”