PHILADELPHIA — Not much has gone right nine games into the 76ers’ season. But the early ascent of Jared McCain into someone the team can confidently draw up crunch-time offense for is near the top of the slim list of positives.
McCain accounted for 27 points, just one turnover and a third of the Sixers’ 3-pointers in 31 minutes in Sunday’s 107-105 win. That only told a portion of McCain’s impact in helping the Sixers improve to 2-7 in what may become construed to be a massive win given the challenges that lie ahead this week. He was everywhere late and in an overtime session that featured he and fellow reserve Guerschon Yabusele instead of starter Andre Drummond and in which Paul George had hit his minutes restriction of 33 in regulation.
“For me, it’s just kind of being quiet,” McCain said, cradling a game ball presented to him by the injured Tyrese Maxey. “Everything’s so loud around you, so just locking it on the ball and having a quiet mind. My psychologist calls it, feel the dance. And I just kind of feel the flow, feel the dance. And just wanted to get a stop, really. It’s all I wanted.”
Playing without Maxey (hamstring) and Joel Embiid (suspension) and with George still limited in his third game, the 76ers needed a boost. McCain supplied it, then sustained it.
“We certainly needed every last one of them,” coach Nick Nurse said. “He can create. He can get by people. And he’s got some array of finishes and he certainly plays with a lot of confidence. He just kept going tonight. We really needed it. It was a great lift.”
The Sixers went up by 16 on Jeff Dowtin’s jumper with 9:44 left but still had to slug it out with the Hornets, who got 38 points from LaMelo Ball.
When Ball’s 3-pointer with 5:22 left got the Hornets within one at 84-83, McCain had the answer with a 19-footer. When Brandon Miller’s two free throws with 3:08 left nudged the Hornets ahead, McCain replied with a 20-foot pullup. Down two with 2:10 left, the Sixers designed a play for McCain, Kyle Lowry hitting him for a 3-pointer.
“He’s incredible,” Yabusele said. “He has no fear. He goes to the basket and always finds a way to get his bucket.”
McCain hit two free throws with 13.1 seconds left that should’ve ended the game, putting the Sixers up four. But a Cody Martin layup and a missed free throw by Kyle Lowry gave the Hornets a last chance, and Ball hit a 3-pointer over McCain to tie the game before George’s bid to win it fell short.
McCain would get a chance to redeem himself defensively. His layup with 1:26 left in overtime was the Sixers’ only field goal of an offensively challenged extra session. McCain would commit his only turnover of the game with 16.1 seconds left, originally called a foul on Ball but overturned on review.
Before that, though, McCain’s dogged determination to stick with Ball forced a Hornets’ shot-clock violation. Eventually, two Caleb Martin free throws with two seconds left sealed the win.
“Every time I can make a winning play, that’s all I’m trying to do,” McCain said. “So if it’s making a game-winning deflection, game-winning stop – obviously I got hit with the 3 to go to overtime so I feel like I owed it to my team and to myself to get a stop. But yeah, I’m always just trying to do whatever I can to help the team.”
McCain has met and filled a gaping need. The 16th pick in a draft severely limited in high-end talent last June, McCain has earned ample opportunities to play. He’s supplanted Eric Gordon, held befuddlingly scoreless in 17 minutes Sunday, in the rotation, and he’s kept veteran Reggie Jackson on the bench for five of nine games.
Injuries to their Big 3 have opened opportunities for players to step up. Few have, with McCain and Yabusele, who scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds, the exceptions.
McCain’s game still has flaws, as expected for a rookie. His defense is a work in progress, especially against a taller man like Ball. He’s shooting 34.5 percent from 3-point range, great by the 76ers’ league-worst standards (he’s third among regulars behind Lowry and Yabusele) but well down from his 41.4 clip at Duke last year.
But Nurse touts McCain’s confidence above all, to step into a difficult situation for his first pro minutes and step up in ways that teammates who have been in the league for a decade have proven unable to.
“We all know to be ready when our name is called,” McCain said. “I think that’s something that when we suit up for a game, we never know when Nurse is going to call out to the bench. And it’s great when he yells – I don’t know if you hear it but when he yells for the bench, he screams it – and it’s almost like your heart skips a beat.”
