Wednesday night's matchup between the visiting Orlando Magic and host Philadelphia 76ers did not spark much interest among NBA diehards. Both teams entered the contest with 0-4 records, a mark of the talent on offer and the franchises' priorities during their long-term rebuilding/tanking processes. We knew that someone would win this game, because the league doesn't allow ties, but it's unclear if anyone was interested in experiencing the result firsthand.
Luckily, Tobias Harris helped everyone out by deciding the win on the game's final play. With the score tied 89-89 and mere seconds on the clock, the Magic ran a play for their 22-year-old forward. Here's what happened:
The Magic's 91-89 win removed them from the ranks of the NBA's winless, which now includes only the Sixers and Los Angeles Lakers, both 0-5.
The winning shot capped off a game that spoke to why both teams came in without a victory. This one was there for the taking throughout the fourth quarter, but neither squad could score even 20 points as the Magic defaulted to an 18-14 advantage. For the night, Orlando shot 3-of-18 from three-point range and turned it over 24 times (to 14 assists). Meanwhile, Philadelphia turned it over 20 times, including nine from Tony Wroten.
When a team doesn't face much pressure to win, it can sometimes be often to show promise when losing. If we use that metric, rather than the final score, than both these teams have a long way to go.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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