The Philadelphia 76ers (3-14) faced the Houston Rockets (14-6) in their latest game without Joel Embiid and Paul George. The Sixers gave it a better fight this time around, taking the game into overtime but losing 122-115.
George said he wants to return within a week but Embiid not being a participant in practice yet is not a great development. Guerschon Yabusele and Andre Drummond started together as Caleb Martin missed his first game of the season due to back soreness and Kyle Lowry remained sidelined. Nick Nurse called the Rockets the best team the Sixers have seen so far this season.
Even though they were on the second night of a back-to-back and coming off an overtime game, the Sixers’ backs were against the wall — and they fought hard. Here are three takeaways from one of the 76ers’ best performances of the season.
Defense was the name of the game
The Rockets came into their matchup with the 76ers ranked second in the NBA in defensive rating, presenting their hosts with a massive test. The colors did not fly but the Sixers managed to score against one of basketball’s stingiest defenses. For an offense as bad as theirs, it was actually an encouraging performance.
As is often the problem with Philly, three-pointers were hard to come by. The Rockets walking into open looks from beyond the arc made it even more urgent to keep up in the (pace-and-)space race. Unfortunately for the Sixers, they did not magically transform into a long-range weapons system. Only five Sixers attempted a three-pointer. Tyrese Maxey, Ricky Council IV and Yabusele were hot and Jared McCain and Kelly Oubre Jr. were not.
Inside the arc, the story was different. Alperen Sengun, skilled as he is scoring and passing the ball, is not as skilled in trying to stop it from going in on the other end. The Sixers scored often and efficiently in the paint, aided by some breakaways in transition.
Their efficiency in the halfcourt was brutal but the same was true (though to a lesser extent) of Houston. This was a hard-fought, sloppy slugfest of a game. Philly could have pulled ahead sooner with better free-throw shooting but still ended up with respectable shooting splits from the floor.
Maxey and McCain both needed to make some tough shots in order to stay in this game early on. The former had some strong finishes off the glass and several long shots off the dribble, racking up 39 points and 10 assists (and a career-high five steals). The latter had some dazzling moves that allowed him to just get his shots off inside, scoring a modest 15 points on 6-19 shooting. Amen Thompson, one of Houston’s defensive demons, hounded them plenty but also got it right back a few times.
Jalen Green was on one, too. He had 18 points, which is just below his per-game average on the season, in the first quarter alone. His night ended with 41 points.
The game-long best effort of the season
It’s hyperbolic to say the 76ers have never been competitive this season but it sometimes does feel that way. Several teams — good, bad, somewhere in between — have managed to defeat them in near-wire-to-wire fashion. It was refreshing to see them climb out of a sizable deficit early and stave off an eight-point disadvantage to force overtime. Considering the opponent, even if it was at a big rest disadvantage, this performance tonight was really strong.
An 18-4 run in the second quarter gave the Sixers the lead. Maxey didn’t do a ton of scoring in that run but got the offense going by penetrating the perimeter and setting up his teammates, mostly former Rocket KJ Martin. He did, however, drain the triple that brought the deficit to one before a pair of free throws from Yabusele officially extinguished a Houston lead that was as big as 13 points.
The 76ers’ lead was short-lived. Maxey was coaxed into another tough shot that missed and Thompson scored on a fast break, helping Houston go into the half up by four.
The third quarter, where the wheels usually start to fall off for the Sixers, was closely fought. The Rockets only won the period by two, getting a three-pointer from Aaron Holiday in the final seconds of the period, and committed six turnovers. Maxey dropped 11 points in that period and continued his tirade in the final period.
In the fourth quarter, defensive rebounding became a problem for the Sixers as they went small ball. Houston’s ensemble of athletes parachuted in for boards, recording three in the span of less than a minute of game time that generated four second-chance points. Some untimely turnovers in the final four minutes cost Philly, though it still managed to force overtime.
The Sixers let their guard down a bit in overtime, closing out hard on Sengun even though he didn’t shoot a three-pointer all game. The bullyball center did his thing to pad the Rockets’ lead. They also committed some back-breaking turnovers. Those two factors produced a 7-0 H-Town run.
Unfortunately, these positives within losses are the victories worth celebrating for Philly. Bask in them for however long you feel is warranted.
Go get ’em, Rick!
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Council had become somewhat of an afterthought after not cracking the rotation and looking worse than last season in the minimal minutes he has played. He took the opportunity he got tonight and ran with it.
Council was the type of fiery athlete the Sixers needed to go against this high-flying Rockets squad, collecting seven rebounds in his first 10 minutes. He didn’t back down from anyone at any time, swatting the daylight out of some shots and hounding opponents all game long. With a double-double (12 points and 10 rebounds) to go along with his efficient shooting, Council’s performance was huge on a number of levels.
Three-point shooting had looked like a lost cause for Council after some impressive showings in Summer League, so it only made sense that he sized up Jabari Smith Jr., stepped back for a triple and drained it late in the third quarter. He wasted no time getting the ball back and getting it ahead to Yabusele, who earned foul shots.
Time will tell how Nurse reconfigures his rotations when the other guys get healthy. Nonetheless, this could be the first step into a more consistent role for the second-year sparkplug.
Other takeaways
- Martin didn’t have a notable stat line (aside from his six fouls) but his defense and athleticism were huge for the Sixers in a similar way to Council.
- The Rockets switched a lot, even with their smaller guards. It was interesting to see them concede so many mismatches with guys like Reed Sheppard and VanVleet (as strong and smart as he is) but they clearly know what they’re doing on defense. Their rotations down low were sharp and Thompson is a special talent. A 19-13-2-3-3 stat line is pretty dang good.
The 76ers have another two-day rest and will begin a road trip on Saturday against the Detroit Pistons.
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