Medals of bravery will be going out for every Sixers fan that stayed up for this one.
Philadelphia was crushed 124-96 by the Denver Nuggets Tuesday night.
They are 37-32, only two games back of falling to the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference.
VJ Edgecombe had just nine points, three rebounds and four assists shooting 3-of-12 from the floor. MarJon Beauchamp shot it well again with the game out of hand, leading the Sixers with 16 points. Christian Braun led all scorers with 22. Nikola Jokic had eight points on seven shots along with 14 assists.
The Sixers were once again without Tyrese Maxey (finger sprain), Joel Embiid (oblique strain), Paul George (suspension), Kelly Oubre Jr. (elbow strain), Jabari Walker (illness) and Johni Broome (torn meniscus). Denver was without Peyton Watson along with their two-ways.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
First Quarter
- The early battle was between Dominick Barlow and Aaron Gordon. Gordon sealed him off a couple of times for baskets but Barlow was able to swat a couple shots away. The Sixers offense’ looked overmatched early, only scoring on an Edgecombe drive and a rolling dunk by Adem Bona.
- Edgecombe was hunting his midrange pull-ups, but it took three tries to make his first one. Quentin Grimes was also aggressive early but could only get one pull-up three to go. It was another unbalanced start from behind the arc, with Denver making five of their first seven triples while the Sixers started 2-of-8 from deep.
- One of the few edges the Sixers had early was the chippiness of the game. Andre Drummond got Jokic T’d up in the process of drawing an offensive foul. That was about as much resistance as the Sixers had early, as the Nuggets shot 56% from the field in the first and jumped out to an 18-point lead.
Second Quarter
- Even the high of Bona’s impressive dunk was quickly overshadowed. The 33-year old Jonas Valancuinas beat him off a couple dribbles and threw down a contested dunk of his own. For once, the Sixers were at least outpacing their opponent in three-pointers attempted but nothing fell for them. They missed their first four threes of the quarter.
- This pace continued so much so that any positive play for the Sixers felt like a noteworthy event. Dalen Terry cut his way for a basket and made a nice little dribble move to get himself a floater. Edgecombe threw a nice lob to Grimes cutting backdoor but neither of them were able to get into a rhythm off the dribble. On top of that, Edgecombe picked up four fouls in the half.
- On top of a subpar defensive performance, the Sixers were buried early because their shooters couldn’t buy anything. Edgecombe, Grimes and Cam Payne shot a combined 8-of-29 from the field in the half. The Sixers made 17 field goals in the half while the Nuggets had 20 assists. Denver led by 32 at the break.
Third Quarter
- Still scourging for any positive, Justin Edwards became the first Sixer of the night to make multiple three-pointers, MarJon Beauchamp would join him late in the quarter when he finally got his second shift. Bona picked up two more blocks and was somehow only -7 to this point in the night but still got an early hook.
- Edgecombe picked up his fifth foul early in the third, but he was able to make it over halfway through the quarter before the white flag was waved. Perhaps he could have gotten a few more shots up, but he was cold and his night was ending quickly one way or another. After winning a third quarter for once, the Sixers only trailed by 29.
Fourth Quarter
- Beauchamp again took advantage of the run he was given, making five of his first seven shots of the night. It’s weird that he’s seemed to fallen down the hierarchy even amongst two-ways when they’ve been slightly healthier. There’s plenty of reasons he’s on a two-way, but at least he’s made shots. As a Sixer, Beauchamp came into this game shooting 47% from the field and 36% from three-point range.