Three observations after Sixers got smoked by Clippers without Embiid and George originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Sixers never flirted with getting their first winning streak of the season on Sunday night.
They got smoked by the Clippers instead, falling to 3-13 with a 125-99 loss at Wells Fargo Center.
Jared McCain scored 18 points and Tyrese Maxey had 17.
James Harden scored 23 points and eight assists for the 11-7 Clippers. Derrick Jones Jr. added 18 points and Ivica Zubac scored 16 points and 12 rebounds.
The Sixers were still missing Joel Embiid (left knee swelling), Paul George (left knee contusion) and Kyle Lowry (right hip strain). Lowry watched from the sideline in a Philadelphia Eagles sweater and a large Eagles hat.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said before the game that both Embiid and George are “making progress.” He said George was on the court Saturday and the swelling in Embiid’s knee has gone down.
The Clippers were backed by Kawhi Leonard (recovering from right knee injury) and Norman Powell (left hamstring strain).
Next up for the Sixers is a matchup with the 12-6 Rockets on Wednesday. Here are observations on their blowout loss to the Clippers:
Sixers immediately fall into a big hole
The Sixers used the same starting lineup as in their win Friday night over the Nets, playing Kelly Oubre Jr., Caleb Martin and Guerschon Yabusele with a backcourt of Maxey-McCain.
They soon found themselves playing catch-up. Put-back layups by Zubac and Jones forced an early Nurse timeout. The Clippers scored nine second-chance points in the first six minutes and the Sixers certainly looked undersized.
A 1-for-9 start from three-point range exacerbated the Sixers’ problems. Yabusele and Andre Drummond were also whistled for illegal ball screens in the first quarter.
On the other hand, the Clippers had no problem picking apart the Sixers’ defense as they shielded and blitzed Harden in the pick-and-roll. Harden scored a dozen points in the first quarter, including a pull-up three that extended the Clippers’ lead to 32-13.
No encore for McCain and Maxey
The Maxey-McCain duo did not pick up where they left off on Friday. Much of their production came when the game was out of reach in the second half.
McCain’s streak of games with 20 points or more ended at seven games.
At times, McCain was not in his normal way of forcing the opposition to respond, but hesitated and was a little too deliberate against tall defenders. He also simply missed jumpers he is used to hitting. McCain fell to 1 for 8 from the field in the second quarter with a three-point attempt that clanked around the rim.
Maxey was too peripheral during a scoreless first quarter, starting 1 for 5 from the floor. He played 30 minutes in his third game since returning from a right hamstring strain.
There is no shortage of waste time
The Clippers missed several long shots in the second quarter as the Sixers switched to zone defense. However, the Sixers couldn’t muster a serious run and went into halftime trailing by 12 points.
In the opening minute of the third quarter, Maxey clutched his right ankle after missing a driving layup and landing awkwardly. The game seemed worrisome for a moment — pretty much everything injury-related is on the Sixers right now — but Maxey stayed in and appeared physically fine.
The Clippers were vastly superior to the Sixers across the board to start the third quarter. Two of Harden’s 12 free throws extended LA’s lead to 20 points. A quick layup by Kris Dunn gave the Clippers more than 30 points and some of the home crowd responded with boos.
Maxey and McCain scored late in the third and early in the fourth quarter, but the Clippers had clearly secured a victory.
Adem Bona and two-way contract players Lester Quinones and Justin Edwards all played in the fourth quarter. They had at least one win on Sunday – with the G League’s Delaware Blue Coats over the Westchester Knicks.
