Defense an absolute no-show as Sixers fall again in Denver

Despite some reinforcements, the Sixers turned in on of their worst defensive efforts of the season

Another successful year for the NBA Rivals week!

The Sixers were crushed by the Nuggets Tuesday night thanks to one of their worst defensive efforts of the season. Denver shot 61.2% as they cruised to a 144-109 win.

This is Philadelphia’s seventh loss in a row. They are 15-27.

Tyrese Maxey led all scorers with 28 points and like most stars in this game, didn’t play the fourth quarter. He shot 11-of-21 from the field and 3-of-10 from the field and also finished with 10 assists.

After missing the last two games, Paul George had 11 points shooting 5-of-11 from the field, he did not score in the second half. Guerschon Yabusele had 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 27 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.

First Quarter

• George’s presence on the floor was a help early as Eric Gordon was able to slip open for a couple of threes. Though they turned it over four times in the first, the tandem of Jokic and Russell Westbrook were already a trouble to stop. They combined for 16 points and eight assists in the first.
• Guerschon Yabusele returned to the lineup as well, he missed the last two games due to knee-to-knee contact. They’re being careful with his minutes as he first checked in late in the quarter. He made a couple shots from the post but nothing from outside early.
• Denver continued to pick apart the Sixers’ defense, even as Adem Bona came into the game to help Yabu. The transition defense was especially bad as the Nuggets had 18 fast break points in the quarter. Shortly after receiving a tribute video, Reggie Jackson got the rim to cut the lead to eight after one.

Second Quarter

• Bona’s rookie aggression continued to show as he picked up three fouls in three minutes. He also got caught for a defensive three seconds in the lane violation on the first possession of the quarter. On top of that, a couple breakdowns that led to wide open Nuggets’ threes prompted a quick timeout from Nick Nurse.
• Maxey got into a groove when he got this and-1 to fall over Sixers legend DeAndre Jordan. He got on the board from deep with a couple of triples during this stretch as well. The Nuggets had an answer each time though, normally from beyond the arc themselves. They shot 56% from deep thanks in large part to Julian Strawther going 4-of-5.

• The half ended with a scoop layup that beat the buzzer from Maxey. That only trimmed the lead down to 10 though as transition defense continued to be a problem. Even on made baskets they were still susceptible to leak outs.

Third Quarter

• Making four of their five shots helped Denver rip off an 11-2 run at the start of the second half. It continued to be a result of pro Sixers’ defense as they walked into transition layups and open corner threes.
• Yabusele’s minutes limit got looser, he checked in fairly early into the quarter. He didn’t seem to miss a beat ripping off 10 quick points in the third. He made four threes in a row after missing his first of the game, and threw down a vicious dunk despite Jokic fouling him. The Nuggets started to run away with the game though as defense remained nonexistent.

• It was so easy for the Nuggets offense that they were able to be at least 60% from the field throughout the entire second and third. The Sixers had put up 94 points through three but still found themselves down by 23.

Fourth Quarter

• The TNT broadcast showed the team’s record, offensive rating, and net rating in the 10 games where their Big 3 is all healthy, just to really torture what few Sixers fans were still watching. It’s fair to say that all of those numbers are better than their season averages.
• Nurse waived the white flag four minutes into the quarter as Bona and Pete Nance both checked in to relieve George and Andre Drummond. The one positive from tonight is that Maxey did not play 40 minutes again.
• The Sixers are back at home for their next contest, and it’s only against the team currently holding the best record in the NBA: the Cleveland Cavaliers. They’ll square off Friday night at 7 p.m. ET.