By JOHN LIKANJE
Thomas Bryant came into Wednesday’s contest in the midst of a three-game stretch which included finishing just shy of his career-high and first double-double of the season.
However, the former Bishop Kearney star had a quiet night against the Philadelphia 76ers: 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, six rebounds and one assist in 33 minutes in the 141-136 loss.
Bryant did most of his damage in the first half when he scored nine points. His first bucket was an easy dunk thanks to Russell Westbrook threading the needle between two defenders from the right wing.
Bryant also hit a floater right outside the restricted area and finished a three-point play in which he converted a contact layup off a Bradley Beal pick and roll.
Although Bryant had a quiet second half, he made two important plays down the stretch: corralling an offensive board and kicking it out to Davis Bertans for a go-ahead three-pointer and making a game-tying layup with four minutes remaining.
Otherwise, it was hard for Bryant to make a significant impact in Wednesday’s game due to Joel Embiid (38 points and eight boards), the Sixers knocking down 18 long-range shots and Beal (tied franchise record with 60 points).
The former Bishop Kearney star’s two lowest-scoring games of the season have come against the Sixers (season-low 10 points in the opener).
Friday night at Boston should be a different story because the Celtics don’t have a true center to match Bryant outside of Tristan Thompson. Game is slated for 7:30 p.m. at TD Garden.
In other NBA action, former McQuaid star Isaiah Stewart record five points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes in the Detroit Pistons’ 130-115 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
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