Philadelphia, PA — Following the Philadelphia 76ers' 125-121 win over the Charlotte Hornets, guard Quentin Grimes, who played the role of the hero among heroes in this game, addressed the media.
Grimes was electric off the bench for the Sixers, scoring 24 points, including the game-winning basket with less than 14 seconds remaining.
After the game, Grimes described the final moments of the game.
"[It was] just a simple read, Grimes said. "If they blitz Tyreese, [I have to] come up, be ready, knock that shot down. I hit a similar shot last year against Brooklyn, but we didn't come out with a W. But this time we were able to come out with a W."
It does not need to be stated that a win is far more gratifying than a loss. Often, it comes down to execution as a team. That was the issue the Sixers struggled with throughout last season. This year, through two games, has proven to be different.
Grimes described what the team managed to do in this win that they failed to do against Brooklyn last year.
"[You have to] do whatever you can to win the game," Grimes said.
"Knock down the shot, we had to calm down the nerves, get back down, and then we had to get one more stop. And we did that, got the rebound, and then went down, made more free throws, and it became a free-throw game at that point. So just doing everything can to win the game, kind of something to the game in Boston."
The Sixers are currently 2-0, and both games have been extremely hard-fought, with the Sixers coming back from more than 10 points down in both.
While last year—and arguably some years previous—the team would have rolled over, this year the Sixers look like a completely different squad, and that's not just on the court but behind the scenes as well.
"We have a great group of guys in a locker room and practice. Everybody comes in with a smile, everybody's excited to work. Not very many egos, if we even have one. I came in late... even though I was late, I could still feel that the energy was different.
"Everybody came with a clean slate. It's a new season. We do have expectations for ourselves, but we know that we just have to take it game by game, step by step, and everything will work out."
The Sixers' next test comes Monday as they welcome Paolo Banchero and the Orlando Magic.
