The story of Jared McCain's night did not dramatically flip in the final seconds.
With the Sixers behind by three points Monday against the Trail Blazers and six seconds left, Jeff Dowtin Jr. made one free throw and missed the second. Keve Aluma chased down the rebound and tossed the ball to McCain, who air balled a game-winning three-point attempt.
The 97-95 defeat dropped the Sixers to 1-1 in the Las Vegas summer league. They'll face the Timberwolves on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
McCain had 11 points on 3-for-16 shooting, seven rebounds and three assists. Ricky Council IV scored 18 points. Dowtin added 17 points and eight assists.
Blazers guard Bryce McGowens made two late free throws to put Portland on top and posted 20 points.
Here are observations on the Sixers' loss Monday night to the Blazers:
Still waiting for McCain to heat up
NBA
The Sixers committed three turnovers before getting a field goal up and Portland grabbed a 14-6 lead.
McCain made a corner three-pointer on the Sixers’ first shot and drilled a deep jumper on the team’s penultimate possession of the first quarter. Late in the second, the rookie guard broke free for a triple off a well-executed baseline out-of-bounds play.
McCain also displayed a bit of his playmaking creativity. He made a brilliant behind-the-back assist to Adem Bona around 7-foot-2 Blazers rookie Donovan Clingan.
Unfortunately, McCain was ice-cold in the second half and appeared to doubt his instincts at times in the fourth quarter. He missed a floater, had a mid-range jumper blocked with 17 seconds remaining, and got whistled for a five-second violation on a sideline out-of-bounds play where tossing a pass to Bona appeared viable.
Through five summer league games, McCain is 17 for 64 from the field (26.6 percent) and 6 for 26 (23.1 percent) from three-point range. He's bound to trend up soon.
And as Council can attest, it's better to struggle in July than during the actual NBA season. McCain would obviously love to experience sustained shooting success at some point this summer, though.
Bona vs. Clingan duel
Players don’t foul out in summer league unless they pile up 10 personals. That rule allowed Bona to play the second half after he'd been called for six fouls in the first.
There's nothing wrong with Bona's aggression and eagerness to swat shots, but he should be able to decrease his fouling by leaning a little more toward sturdy defense and a little less toward chasing spectacular rejections. He was second in the nation in total fouls last season at UCLA.
Especially when Bona's in a backup role, the Sixers still shouldn't mind him being all about constant activity and zealous rim protection. He leaped high to block Clingan's shot in the third quarter.
The seventh pick in this year's draft soon slammed in a massive dunk over Bona, but the Sixers' rookie big man was up for the challenge. He returned the favor with a drive around Clingan and an emphatic dunk of his own.
Bona's desire to fight fire with fire has been fun to watch this summer. A wholly attacking mindset may not be as effective in the NBA, but it would be absolutely fine if he retains much of that attitude.
Several solid showings
Council jammed in his now-customary summer league reverse slam.
He keeps on creating highlights and earning trips to the foul line (9 for 14 on his free throws Monday). Council swished a jumper from a few feet inside half court as the shot clock dwindled.
The Sixers received a handful of useful contributions around Council and Dowtin.
Judah Mintz (16 points on 5-for-7 shooting) gave the team some quality minutes off the bench and played his best game of the summer so far. During his first stint, Mintz nabbed a steal at the top of the Sixers’ zone and canned an and-one jumper. The former Syracuse guard has a smooth in-between game.
Justin Edwards swooped over for a surprising rejection on Clingan as he posted up against Tony Bradley. He chipped in 12 points and three rebounds, too.
Bradley recorded a team-high four offensive boards, which has always been one of his best areas. In 17 minutes, he also scored six points on 3-for-3 shooting and blocked two shots.