PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers needed all hands on deck on Sunday night when they played host to the Portland Trail Blazers. When considering the Sixers are still missing the likes of Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey, they needed a number of guys to step up and produce for this team out on the floor.
One of those guys is Andre Drummond. The 14-year veteran missed the previous two games due to back spasms and the Sixers missed his presence on the floor. When he is right, Drummond is an elite rebounder who can do a number of different things on the floor.
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In Sunday’s 109-103 win over the Blazers, Drummond produced six points, 17 rebounds, four assists, and two steals off the bench. He was excellent against Portland’s Donovan Clingan and gave Philadelphia a presence as he disrupted some lobs the Blazers tried to throw and he helped the Sixers win the rebounding battle 51-49 on the night.
“We definitely missed his presence the last couple games when he was out,” Quentin Grimes said of Drummond. “You can see how much he impacts the game rebounding-wise and defensively and he made some timely shots as well. He was big for us today.”
There was a sequence in the fourth with Philadelphia leading by 10 when Portland All-Star Deni Avdija tried to throw a lob, but Drummond broke it up and Grimes went the other way for a layup. It was a huge sequence for Philadelphia and it allowed the Sixers to expand their lead.
“He looked really fresh and was great,” added coach Nick Nurse. “I thought the biggest thing was he just plugged the paint. They maybe got one lob behind us tonight. When we played them there (in Portland), it was like, nonstop, it felt like, right? They put so much pressure on you coming downhill with all those guys that can score, and usually the big sometimes gets caught up uphill, helping, but we did a little bit of both.”
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Drummond was able to give the Sixers that presence all night long and they probably don’t win that game without him.
“I thought we plugged the gaps, and then when they throw it up, we got back and knocked a few away and, obviously, he was fantastic on the glass tonight,” Nurse added. “I know we gave up some offensive rebounds, but the rebounding numbers in general, we win that which is largely due to Drum.”
After the win, Drummond was lying on his back in the locker room as he clearly had to go through a lot just to play in this game on Sunday. The 2-time All-Star revealed it was a lot for him to prepare for this game and give the Sixers a good 35 minutes off the bench.
“Yeah, it took a lot just to get myself ready to go,” Drummond laughed. “Was not expected to play 35 minutes, but I did what I was supposed to, and we came away with a great win.”
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The Sixers will now begin a 3-game road trip on Tuesday when they take on the Denver Nuggets.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Multiple Sixers single out Andre Drummond after win over Trail Blazers
