When one saw who was missing for the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday when they visited the defending champion Denver Nuggets, one would have assumed the game was a blowout.
The Sixers were missing Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, De’Anthony Melton, Robert Covington and Mo Bamba. Joel Embiid joined that list shortly before the tip. Despite the absences, the Sixers had a lead in the fourth quarter and almost pulled off a big win before the Nuggets closed it out, 111-105.
There is some controversy surrounding Embiid’s absence. He was not on the injury report before the game, and he appeared to be active in warmups. The decision robbed everybody of an Embiid vs. Nikola Jokic matchup, but the Sixers certainly gave the Nuggets everything they could handle.
“We found out very late and I don’t know how you go from being active, available, to out,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone told reporters after the win. “I’m sure the league will do its due diligence because that’s frowned upon. And we have had situations this year, we have talked to the league, and they have told us if a player goes from active to out, there is going to be an investigation. I’m sure that will happen.”
One has to wonder whether Embiid tweaked his troublesome left knee in the loss to the Indiana Pacers to begin the trip.
“Joel hurt his knee in the Indiana game, that’s real. If you watched the game, he hurt his knee in the Indiana game,” Malone added. “I’m sure he is hurt, but it’s really tough when a player and a team like us are preparing for them, and then all of a sudden at the last minute he’s out.”
It looked as if the Nuggets were going to run away with this one. Jamal Murray hit three triples in the first quarter and Denver built a 10-point lead in the opening frame before the Sixers made it a game.
“We have to do a better job handling those situations and I felt we did, Jamal made three 3s in a row, we are up 10, and I think everyone was like ‘Oh yeah this is going to be a cakewalk tonight.’ Well, it wasn’t; this was a tough, tough win and not satisfied.”
Jokic, who expressed his admiration for Embiid after the win, downplayed the reigning league MVP sitting out. The two giants have respect for one another: They know what they bring to the table.
“I mean I think they have really good, professional players,” Jokic said of the Sixers. “Maybe it looks like on paper that it’s supposed to be an easy game. There is no easy games for us. We were fighting, they were fighting. It was an interesting game. I’m just glad that we won in the end.”
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