76ers’ Kelly Oubre Jr.’s illness had him ‘feeling like dog water’ in Game 5

Kelly Oubre Jr. fights through illness in 76ers’ Game 5 win over Knicks

Maxey was absent from the 76ers’ shootaround ahead of Game 2 as he fought through sickness to be there for his team. The Sixers ended up dropping that game in an epic collapse late in the fourth quarter. While Maxey is back to feeling better, his teammate on the wing has some more recovering to do.

Oubre may not have been feeling his best but he helped the 76ers stave off elimination on the road.

“But yeah, man, I feel okay,” he said. “I‘m gonna give it my all, my heart and my soul each and every time I step on the court. Fatigue was a factor. I had a little bruise on my leg from last game as well. That was a factor. But at the end of the day, man, just doing whatever I can, just scrap a little bit of whatever I can bring to the table to help us win. That was the goal tonight and I’m just happy that I could lean on my guys.”

Nick Nurse — who himself could be added to the injury report after injuring his finger — clearly trusted Oubre in a close game, playing him throughout the fourth quarter and overtime. His size and athleticism have been huge for the 76ers all season long.

“He did okay. He did okay. He was really struggling, laboring through some moments out there, as you guys probably saw,” Nurse said. “But when he finally got off the floor, he said, ‘Just gimme a few minutes and I’ll be ready to go back.’ So it was good. I mean, he worked hard and don’t think he feels great.”

Kelly Oubre Jr. will do what he can to get back to feeling closer to 100 percent before Game 6 back in Philadelphia on Thursday night.