Newcomer Anthony Tolliver became the latest Sixer to contribute during this injury-plagued season

With every game being important as the 76ers look to hold onto the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, there is no telling who will help the team win a game down the stretch.

Even a veteran who hasn’t played for keeps in more than eight months.

That was certainly the case Friday night when Anthony Tolliver made his Sixers debut in a 106-103 win over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers in a game featuring banged-up NBA title contenders.

The well-traveled Tolliver signed a 10-day contract with the Sixers on Monday.

Before Friday, his most recent NBA action came Aug. 13, 2020, with the Memphis Grizzlies when he scored nine points in a 119-106 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA bubble in Kissimmee, Fla.

Since then, he has spent time as an assistant coach on his 8-year-old son’s basketball team, but when the Sixers called, the 35-year-old forward was ready.

He knows a little bit about keeping his bags packed and being ready to go since the Sixers are his 11th team in what is now his 13th NBA season.

Tolliver’s Sixers debut won’t be confused with Wilt Chamberlain’s (22 points, 29 rebounds on Jan. 21 ‚1965 in a 111-102 win over his old San Francisco Warriors team). Yet, in this crazy season, where teams have little time between games and injuries can accumulate quickly, or teams could be shorthanded due to health and safety protocols, somebody can be pulled from the unemployment line to the foul line in an instant’s notice.

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In 14 minutes, 7 seconds against the Clippers, Tolliver went scoreless, going 0-for-2 from the field, both shots from three-point range. He had two rebounds, one assist, one turnover, and one blocked shot, but it was more than enough to earn considerable praise from coach Doc Rivers.

“He was great, I mean, I feel bad for him,” Rivers said. “He didn’t know anything play-wise.”

It didn’t stop the Sixers from using him at multiple positions.

“We put him at the five [center] and the four [power forward] and I was laughing with [assistant coach] Dave Joerger, it doesn’t matter, he doesn’t know any position anyway,” Rivers said.

Since Tolliver signed, the Sixers haven’t had a full practice and have done their strategic work during shootarounds.

“We could put him at the point guard, he didn’t know any positions, so we just wanted him out there to space [the court] and I think he did that,” Rivers said. “I think he actually made a couple of good defensive plays for us as well.”

With so many NBA teams dealing either with injury or health and safety protocols this season, being shorthanded has been a constant.

Teams are playing games at a dizzying pace. The Sixers’ 36 second-half games are being played in 67 days.

Not surprisingly, the Sixers haven’t been spared from the injury bug.

On Friday, the Sixers were without starters Tobias Harris (right-knee soreness) and Seth Curry (left-hip flexor), along with key reserve center Dwight Howard, who missed his second straight game with left knee soreness.

George Hill, who the Sixers acquired at the March 25 trade deadline from Oklahoma City, has yet to play for the team as he recovers from Feb. 2 surgery on his right thumb. Rivers said before Friday’s game that he was optimistic that Hill will be making his debut soon.

The Clippers (39-19) were without All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard, who missed his fourth straight game with right knee soreness, along with Serge Ibaka (lower back tightness) and Patrick Beverley (left hand fracture).

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This is a season in which since-departed two-way player Dakota Mathias helped the Sixers win a game. Now Tolliver can add his name to the list.

Every win could be needed for the Sixers (39-17) in their quest for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Sixers lead Brooklyn (38-18) by a game atop the Eastern Conference standings and they also own the tiebreaker after winning the season series 2-games-to-1 following Wednesday’s 123-117 home victory over the Nets.

Now the Sixers have what is considered an extended vacation -- two full days off -- before returning to action on Monday against the Golden State Warriors at the Wells Fargo Center.

The next and last time in the regular season the Sixers will have two full days between games will be May 9-10. The regular season ends on May 16. There’s no telling who else could help them win a game or two by then.