The Sixers gave their fans plenty of reasons to have problems with them, and it’s their turn to hear about it.
Philadelphia laid an egg, falling 114-106 to the Brooklyn Nets Tuesday night, a game that certainly
wasn’t as close as the final score indicates.
Back after missing the last two games, Joel Embiid dropped 27 on 8-of-13 shooting along with six rebounds, but had yet another injury scare when he tweaked his knee on the first play of the second half. He only made one field goal in the second half.
Tyrese Maxey had his worst game in quite some time, though he was hardly the only one. He shot 3-of-14 from the floor for 13 points. Combined with Jared McCain, the Sixers’ starting backcourt shot 6-of-25.
Paul George finished with 19 points but shot 5-of-14 to do so. Michael Porter Jr. led all scorers with 28.
The illness going around continues to hit the Sixers — VJ Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes and Dominick Barlow all missed this game because of it while Kelly Oubre Jr. and Trendon Watford remain out as well.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
First Quarter
- Despite Embiid knocking down his first two jumpers of the night, it was a fairly clunky start for both teams. Multiple Sixers just lost their dribbles on drives, and they airballed a couple times as well. Meanwhile, it took Brooklyn over four minutes to record their first field goal of the game.
- It took the Sixers even longer to make their first three of the night though. They were just settling for so many midrange pull-ups early in the shot clock. Their only made basket in the paint for the first half of the quarter was Jared McCain pushing the ball while the Nets were still getting back on defense.
- Also, in spite of how clunky the game started offensively, the Sixers weren’t sharp defensively either and could not keep on a lid on Porter, who went for 14 in the quarter. This might have actually been a night where veteran presence could have helped get the shot selection back on track. Not much improved when Kyle Lowry and Eric Gordon checked into the game, though Gordon was able to knock down the team’s first three of the game to tie the game up at 27 after one.
Second Quarter
- George was one of the leading offenders for that start, and that’s not because he had airballed and wedgied two jumpers in quick succession. He looked to quickly erase that though, opening the quarter with a jumper, a steal,and a slam. He showed as much as emotion and excitement as he ever had in a Sixers uniform after that sequence, walking down the other end of the court to hype up the crowd.
- That only ended up being a temporary fix as Gordon continued to be responsible for all the team’s three-point production. The most puzzling part of the team’s offensive struggles was that Maxey still had not taken a shot since the opening minutes of the game. He was hardly involved when the ball crossed half court as things ran through George and Embiid.
- Maxey finally got involved again, but he wasn’t finding space on drives. He didn’t make his first field goal of the night until there were two minutes left in the half. The Sixers were desperate enough when Jabari Walker picked up his third foul to run Adem Bona out there alongside Embiid, but he also picked up two quick ones with the Nets in the bonus.
- The one positive was not only was Embiid’s jumper falling, but he was moving to the basket well, getting one nice drive to fall as well as hitting a circus layup attempt. It felt like that was all that was keeping the Sixers in the game, a place they should never be in against this team. The Nets took a six-point lead into the break.
Third Quarter
- Well, if the first half looked bad, things only appeared to be getting worse. On the very first play of the second half Embiid got tangled up with Terance Mann and immediately grabbed at his right knee. He got up as quickly as he could in the moment, limped back to the locker room, and somehow was able to return a couple minutes later.
- Before Embiid returned, the Sixers’ offense quickly became whatever offensive rebounds Andre Drummond could tap back in, and for like, a minute it was as good of offense as they had all night. That didn’t last long though, especially because they made it hard on themselves on the other end. Their inability to stop fouling helped the Nets expand their lead quickly on the other end, as well as putting a good chunk of the Sixers’ rotation in serious foul trouble.
- While he was back in the game, the Sixers wanted another big out there with Embiid at all times. The combination of that and having to regain some trust in his legs made it hard for him to get any sort of positioning, and he wasn’t able to carry the offense like he did in the first half. To compound things, they started taking more aggressive gambles on defense, which is fair since they needed quick turnovers to turn things around. They came up empty on those gambles though, leaving a lot of open shots for Brooklyn, who led by 12 after three.
Fourth Quarter
- Whatever brief momentum the Sixers had built by scoring the last five points of the third was once again quickly erased. George kept trying to get things going with his pull-up jumpers but they were not falling for him. When everything is going this poorly, it’s even more embarrassing to get beat on every loose ball and hustle play, but that’s just what the Sixers were doing on the other end of the floor.
- The reality of the situation may have finally set in as the Sixers finally strung together some solid defensive possessions, making sure to not allow any more offensive rebounds. A couple minutes into his shift, Embiid really started to move better again. He made a nice move to get around his defender and threw a perfect lob to Bona.
- Despite the Nets going about five minutes without making a field goal, the Sixers continued to run into their own hurdles. Both Embiid and Bona had to really watch themselves the last four minutes of the game after picking up five fouls. Once they both had five, Brooklyn got a lot more comfortable in themselves again and hit enough shots to put the game away.
