The Philadelphia 76ers(20-36) were hoping to snap a six-game losing streak on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Center when they hosted the Brooklyn Nets(21-35).
Philadelphia trailed by as many as 17 points, but after a furious run in the fourth with Joel Embiid on the bench, they took their first lead since the first quarter following a Quentin Grimes’ three with just over four minutes to go.
With Philadelphia down three late, Tyrese Maxey, who had a game-high 31 points, made his fifth three of the game, which tied things up at 103 with 23 seconds left. However, Nets center Nic Claxton had a tip-in at the buzzer, and Brooklyn would defeat the 76ers 105-103.
The 76ers have now lost seven straight and fell to 16 games below .500.
Embiid, who is battling a knee injury and did not talk to the media after the game, struggled again, scoring only 14 points on 4/13 shooting from the field.
Following the loss, 76ers coach Nick Nurse explained why he sat the seven-time All-Star for the whole fourth quarter.
“That group was just playing so well together and had a good feel for the game at that point and just wanted to let them roll with it,” Nurse said.
Nurse also discussed what he saw from Embiid on the court.
“Like I said, you know he’s feeling pretty decent when he is driving the ball some, right and playing inside a little bit, and protecting the rim a little bit,” Nurse said. “And he’s not feeling pretty…very decent if he is playing on the perimeter and the opposite of those things. So again he’s giving us what he can, obviously, he doesn’t feel like…he’s not himself, we all know that. He’s not certainly the guy that we are all used to seeing play at a super high level, but I commend him for giving us what he can.”
Maxey, who has a close relationship with Embiid, explained how he’s trying to encourage his center.
“For me, I just check on him,” he said. “We’ve grown a relationship that’s bigger than basketball, I would say. When you’re calling somebody in the summertime, and checking on somebody all the time, and making sure they’re good, not just basketball, life-wise. Checking on his family, checking on his parents, his wife, and his kids. It’s bigger than basketball for us and we just appreciate him putting his body on the line every single night and coming out here and trying to fight with us and help us get W’s.”
Getting routed by the Celtics at home is one thing, but losing to the Nets in your own building is unacceptable, especially with your three best players on the court. Unfortunately, what looked like a championship-caliber team in the beginning is now looking like a lottery team in the end.
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