The Sixers survived a foul-filled summer league game Tuesday evening.
On a night in which they shot 40 for 44 at the free throw line (90.9 percent) as a team, the Sixers ground out a 92-90 win over the Timberwolves and improved to 2-1 in the Las Vegas summer league.
Fittingly, the final stretch was stuffed with fouls, including an offensive foul by Minnesota's Rob Dillingham on Judah Mintz that (debatably) stood after a T-Wolves challenge. Jeff Dowtin Jr. split a pair of free throws to leave the door open for Minnesota, but Daishen Nix fumbled a Dillingham pass and the Timberwolves couldn't get a shot off before the final buzzer.
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Sixers rookie Jared McCain scored 21 points on 5-for-16 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds. Nix and Leonard Miller posted 22 points apiece.
Next up for the Sixers is a matchup with the Spurs on Friday night at 8:30 p.m. ET. Here are observations on their second Vegas victory:
Monstrous free throw volume
Entering Tuesday, Rick Council IV's 11.5 free throw attempts per game led all players in Las Vegas. He took six more in the first quarter vs. Minnesota and made each one.
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As a team, the Sixers went 14 for 14 at the free throw line over the first 7 minutes and 10 seconds. They ended up draining their first 22 foul shots of the game.
The officials blew tons and tons of whistles for each side, granting minimal leeway for any sort of contact. That sure did not make for an especially fluid or fan-friendly contest … but plenty of players got in-game free throw reps.
With a 4-for-4 evening at the foul line, Adem Bona moved to 11 for 11 in summer league overall. For a rookie who made 57.3 percent of his foul shots as a UCLA freshman and 69.6 percent as a sophomore, his free throws have looked very good.
Outside of foul shots, both teams struggled to score efficiently or generate offensive rhythm. The Sixers were 34.8 percent from the floor and 4 for 26 (15.4 percent) from three-point range.
McCain's confidence intact
McCain missed his first two field goals, but he knocked down a long pull-up jumper and hit four free throws in the first quarter.
Despite going into Tuesday with a 26.6 field goal percentage in summer league action, he continued to play his game and trust his jumper.
The matchup against Dillingham, the eighth pick in the draft, was scrappy and competitive. After stripping the ball from McCain on a drive, Dillingham shoved him and got called for a technical foul. The Kentucky product recorded 10 points on 3-for-10 shooting, seven assists, seven turnovers and six rebounds.
While McCain still couldn't find a true shooting groove, he had a few tricky finishes inside, including a reverse layup after slipping free along the baseline.
Beyond the numbers, it's significant that his confidence didn't appear to be diminished Tuesday.
Sixers eke one out
Bona had a few blunders — moving screens, a missed dunk, an intercepted outlet pass.
Still, he continued to pursue and contest absolutely everything. Though it doesn’t show up on the stat sheet, Bona had several impressive stops at the rim when he anticipated a drive, elevated high, and kept his arms straight to ensure he wasn’t whistled for a foul.
However, he did rack up seven fouls over 23 minutes.
The game finally became a tad less halting in the third quarter. Tony Bradley's fast-break layup capped an 11-1 Sixers run that also featured Council's first two made field goals and a Justin Edwards dunk.
Although the Sixers broke open a 16-point lead, a drama-free fourth quarter was not in the cards. The Timberwolves capitalized on the Sixers' frequent sloppiness and pulled ahead on a Nix free throw with a little over two minutes remaining.
Physicality and foul shots were central to the action all night long. In the end, the Sixers won largely because of their collective free throw shooting clinic.