The Philadelphia 76ers has finally won 2 straight games after defeating the Miami Heat 101-94 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The win ended a historically long streak of 108 straight games without winning back-to-back games. It's the longest streak of all time.
The Philadelphia 76ers were led by Joel Embiid with another solid outing. Joel Embiid, the no. 3 overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft, scored a team-high 22 points on 7 for 13 shooting on the field to go along with 5 rebounds, 3 blocked shots and one steal. All of that in just 23 minutes of playing time. The Miami Heat were led by center Hassan Whiteside who scored a career high 32 points on 13 for 19 shooting on the field, 13 rebounds and 2 blocked shots.
Finally doesn't even describe the magnitude of the Philadelphia 76ers win on Monday night. It's more of a big sigh of relief. To give everyone a perspective of how long the streak of 108 straight games is, the last time the Philadelphia 76ers won back to back games was back in March, 2015 and Sam Hinkie was still the general manager. They defeated the Detroit Pistons on March 18 and the New York Knicks on March 20. That's almost 2 years. 20 months to be exact.
Philadelphia 76ers shooting guard Gerald Henderson, a free agent acquisition this summer, even said that the players were aware of the streak.
"They were talking about that this morning at shoot around," said Gerald Henderson. "I asked the guys if they won back-to-back games last year. There was a quick no. But hey, it's a new year, man."
The 2016-2106 NBA season should be a promising one for the Philadelphia 76ers. After drafting Ben Simmons with the number one overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft, the Philadelphia 76ers hoped to finally end years of losing. But as luck would have it, Ben Simmons injured his ankle. A month before the season starts, Ben Simmons rolled his right ankle. An MRI revealed that he fractured fifth metatarsal bone of his right foot and could be out for three to four months.
Ben Simmons' injury is just the latest spate of bad luck to hit the Philadelphia 76ers' top draft picks. Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid both missed their rookie season because of injuries.
