Nik Stauskas holds on tight to Philadelphia’s meal ticket, elite closer T.J. McConnell. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/TNS/Getty Images) With Joel Embiid still sidelined due to a bone bruise in his left knee, the Philadelphia 76ers needed someone else to turn to in the closing seconds of their Thrusday night matchup with the Orlando Magic. And when JoJo’s not able and the money’s on the table, everyone knows where Philly needs to go. That’s right: undrafted free agent point guard T.J. McConnell.
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After the referees and the replay officials in Secaucus, N.J., found themselves unable to determine which team should have possession when a loose ball contested between Orlando guard Evan Fournier and Philly forward Ersan Ilyasova went out bounds, the Sixers and Magic lined up for a jump ball with 13.7 seconds remaining and Orlando leading 111-110. Ilyasova won the tip, and McConnell raced to the ball, then turned to face up on Magic guard C.J. Watson.
With Philly in a small-ball alignment featuring capable shooters Ilyasova, Dario Saric and Robert Covington in the frontcourt, Orlando interior defenders Serge Ibaka and Nikola Vucevic were drawn out of the paint to stay close to their assignments. With the floor spaced and the lane unclogged, McConnell went to work, driving hard to his left against Watson, getting to the middle of the key and lofting a short jumper over Watson that bounced off the rim and through the net, giving Philly a 112-111 advantage with 5.8 seconds left.
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Vucevic inbounded the ball to Fournier, as the Magic sought to race down the other end and find an answer. But when Saric stepped in his path, Fournier stopped, stumbled, picked up his dribble, jumped and threw the ball into the frontcourt … where McConnell was waiting to pick it off, sealing a 112-111 win that snapped a five-game losing skid. McConnell’s big plays on both ends of the floor in the final 10 seconds earned him a postgame Gatorade bath:
For gatorade showers….#MadeInPHILA #NBAGIF pic.twitter.com/ii8gyXBXjm
— NBA (@NBA) February 10, 2017
Luckily for CSN Philly, T.J.’s not as volatile a customer when his hair gets mussed up during a live postgame hit as The Homie Dario is.
While McConnell became the latest Sixer to knock down a big shot in the closing seconds, it was Saric who starred for the Sixers on Thursday, elevating the team’s offense late with nine fourth-quarter points to help bring Philly back from an eight-point deficit in the final eight minutes:

Saric finished with a career-high 24 points on 8-for-15 shooting, including a 3-for-5 mark from 3-point land, to go with eight rebounds, three steals and an assist in 27 1/2 minutes off the bench. In a relatively sloppy affair, the Croatian playmaker helped tilt the tide in Philly’s favor, pushing them to a split of a back-to-back and to their 19th win of the season — only one fewer win than the Magic, who fell to 20-35.
Still, though, the late-game exploits made McConnell — who notched his first career game-winner last month against the New York Knicks, and who finished with eight points, eight assists, five rebounds, three steals and no turnovers in 30 minutes of work — the hero of the evening.
How clutch are you?
"I'll let @JoelEmbiid be the judge." #SixersTalk pic.twitter.com/16hG1uqLV8
— CSN Philly (@CSNPhilly) February 10, 2017
Now that you mention it, T.J., Joel did have some thoughts about that:
Is Tj Mcconnell is the clutchest player in the history of the NBA? I guess so #TrustTheProcess pic.twitter.com/JD6IoQ2J5v
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) February 10, 2017
… and, well, who could blame him?
pic.twitter.com/Zdm2DaoW9R

— nbaayy (@nbaayy) February 10, 2017
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The defense rests, your honor. Move over, Isaiah Thomas: T.J. McConnell is the new face of clutch in the NBA.
@YourManDevine That game winner face… pic.twitter.com/QTFPuMxg1r
— Lorenzo Giacometti (@giacometrics) February 10, 2017
Hey, nobody ever said it was going to be a chill face.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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