The Sixers got a huge game from James Anderson and were able to rally for a 123-117 win over the Houston Rockets in overtime at the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday night.
The victory improved the Sixers to 5-4 on the season.
Anderson scored a career-high 36 points and hit the game-tying three-pointer with 6.6 seconds left in regulation to force OT.
Tony Wroten was strong for the Sixers, posting his first career triple-double.
Michael Carter-Williams missed his first game of the season with a bruised left foot, while Houston guard James Harden also sat out with a left foot injury.
Turning point
Spencer Hawes had a put-back slam over Dwight Howard with 34.9 seconds to play in OT to give the Sixers a 115-114 lead. They never trailed again after that bucket.
NBA
Hawes finished the game with 18 points and nine rebounds. The center also nailed 3 of 5 attempts from long range.
Follow the leader
Jeremy Lin followed up his 31-point performance on Monday by scoring 34 against the Sixers. Lin was an amazing from distance, making a Well Fargo Center-record nine threes. He also added 12 assists.
Howard had a double-double with 23 points and 15 rebounds to go with his six assists and six blocked shots.
Anderson stole the show in this one. He connected on 12 of 16 shots from the floor, including 6 of 8 from beyond the arc. Anderson’s previous career high was 19 points before scoring 36 against the Rockets.
Evan Turner scored 23 points in the win, with eight coming in the extra session.
Stat-egic
The Rockets’ break-neck pace has them as the fifth-highest scoring team in the NBA at 106.1 points per game. Yet, the Sixers were the team who scored more on the fast break. The Sixers had 24 fast-break points to the Rockets’ seven.
Take a bow
Wroten seized the moment in his first NBA start. Filling in for the injured MCW, Wroten had 18 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.
Wroten became the fifth player in the NBA this season to record a triple-double.
What’s next?
The Sixers travel to Atlanta to face the Hawks on Friday night.
The Hawks were 4-3 heading into Wednesday’s game against the New York Knicks.
Former Sixer Kyle Korver entered that matchup second all-time in consecutive games with a at least one three-pointer at 80.
Former Sixer Dana Barros has the all-time mark with 89 straight games, part of which was set when he was wearing a Sixers uniform. Barros’ streak started Dec. 23, 1994 and ended the following season when he played for the Celtics on Jan. 12, 1996.