Philly’s 4th quarter collapse seals their fate in disappointing loss

The Philadelphia 76ers (35-26) took on the Brooklyn Nets (25-37) with no Joel Embiid or Tyrese Maxey. The Sixers looked like a totally different team without their two stars and lost 112-107.

Let’s break down the latest (mis)adventures of the Hospital Sixers.

76ers player notes:

Tobias Harris: 18 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 8-16 FG shooting

Harris got to his spot in the middle of the paint but got caught up plenty of times, opting to reset the offense. Without the easier looks that came from playing off of his star teammates, he took more time with the ball and got worse looks than he had usually. His playmaking later in the game did improve, though, which lifted the team out of a scoring rut. Still, he wasn’t getting the Sixers firing on all cylinders as the top option.

Kyle Lowry: 14 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 5-9 FG shooting

Lowry plays with an urgency and intelligence that always gets the 76ers playing better, sharper and more organized. Although his abundant fouling was detrimental, his ability to light a fire under whatever group he plays with has been massively beneficial. Despite being unable to drive by his defender consistently anymore, the threat of his shooting remains effective.

Kelly Oubre Jr.: 30 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 11-20 FG shooting

Oubre’s sheer determination when attacking the paint is so badly needed on this Sixers team. A move to the bench seems to have made things much easier for him, bringing back the groove he had at the beginning of the season (albeit, when he was a starter, though with a much different team).

Nets player notes:

Dennis Schroder: 20 points, 2 rebounds, 8 assists, 7-12 FG shooting

With his feline quickness and propensity for annoying his opponents, Schroder got the Nets running as well as anyone in the black-and-white threads did tonight. Some complementary scoring off the wing from mostly Lonnie Walker IV (18 points) and Dorian Finney-Smith (20 points) helped but much of it started with Schroder.

Game recap:

Maxey was unable to avoid further troubles with his head collision in the 76ers’ win over the Dallas Mavericks, as he has started feeling concussion-like symptoms and was ruled out for this game. Although the Nets did not present themselves as a tough challenge, being down their top two players was not a great development for the Sixers. Their chances to string together three wins for the first time this season without Embiid would seemingly not come too easy.

Ben Simmons wasn’t around to face his former team. All-World Bucket/Hooper Cam Thomas was also out. The Sixers started Cam Payne in Maxey’s place.

1st half

Harris matched up with Bridges while Dorian Finney-Smith took him on offense. Lowry had the Sixers pushing the pace and hunting triples each chance they got, resulting in a hot shooting start while the Nets shot poorly to start. Kelly Oubre Jr was an early sub for Payne. The Nets’ pick-and-rolls for Bridges got him going but the rest of the team struggled.

Nico Batum took the Bridges assignment when he checked in. The Nets’ spaced-out lineup with Finney-Smith at center made things tough for the Sixers, who were light at the rim with Paul Reed pulled outside the paint. They eventually took the lead when Walker got to cooking. Kelly Oubre Jr. missed another dunk en route to a rough start to his night but he stuck with it and eventually got good results out of attacking the hoop. He had eight points in nine first-quarter minutes.

KJ Martin played the five to begin the second quarter and Jeff Dowtin Jr., freshly signed to a two-way contract, made an appearance early in the quarter. A guard with a long wingspan who has 25 games of experience playing under Nick Nurse last season, he guarded Dennis Smith Jr. the length of the floor and made good rotations on defense. He also brought the ball up from time to time but didn’t do much.

Some brutal fouls from the Sixers allowed the Nets to keep up despite ghastly shooting splits from the field. Philly’s inability to draw their own — Oubre had all three of theirs after the first 18+ minutes of game time — was diminishing its offense. Walker’s hot shooting didn’t go anywhere, propelling the Nets’ offense. Lowry was whistled for his third foul of the half and had some words with Dennis Schroder, earning them each a technical foul.

Schroder snuck in a layup, shut down an Oubre drive and assisted Bridges to get the Nets ahead right before the half. And then he fouled Payne, giving him free throws to take the lead back.

At the break, the 76ers led 57-56.

2nd half

The 76ers’ second half began with some uninspired ball full of turnovers, poor defensive rotations, missed from point-blank range and no points for the first three minutes. Schroder was locking Harris up despite the massive size disadvantage. Mo Bamba missed shots at the rim in pathetic fashion. The Nets weren’t good enough to pull away but they did go on a run that flipped the lead by a good bit.

Nic Claxton had his way on defense, deterring shots in the paint while also disrupting the Sixers’ offense on the perimeter. Philly’s sets that focused on pin-down screens and floppy actions that get guys in motion to seek a shot or a lane to drive weren’t doing much. The ball started moving well later in the quarter, aided in part by timely slot cuts. Harris’ passing out of his post touches was starting to contribute to open looks. A slam dunk from Oubre over Claxton and a buzzer-beating triple from Walker lit fireworks at the Barclays Center.

Up by three to start the fourth quarter, the 76ers went back to Martin at center against the Nets’ small-ball lineup. The extra space made drives into the paint easier and allowed Martin to slip by for an open dunk. His rolling gravity opened up Oubre for a triple. Oubre had another strong game, hitting his shots and making good reads. However, a Nets run sparked by Martin fouling Bridges on a three and a cold spell from the Sixers tied up the game.

A 360 dunk from Dennis Smith Jr. made it a three-point game in the Nets’ favor with four and a half minutes left. By then, the Sixers were crawling to the finish line. They couldn’t get any penetration on offense, settling for contested looks that left the bottom of the net still. Even Lowry rushing an inbound to get the ball in with Philly in a three-on-two break, nothing came out of it.

Harris started to get a groove with his face-up jumpers, going to work on the right side of the paint. The Nets had answers on the other end, maintaining an edge. A Schroder layup made it a five-point game with 23 seconds left. The 76ers were unable to make it back on top, squandering a 14-point first-half lead.

Random tidbits:

• Lowry’s Spidey sense for his teammates having mismatches is a great skill, even if his teammates don’t always take advantage of it (which was not very often in this game). His insistence on playing up-tempo is a major reason why he can see when a guard is in front of a bigger player or a teammate is down the court ready to score.
• Before his second game receiving zero minutes, Ricky Council IV said that he wanted to play in the playoffs, which requires his contract to be converted. But he did make it clear he’s going to be a good teammate above all else.

The 76ers are back in action in Philly tomorrow against the Memphis Grizzlies.