The Philadelphia 76ers almost pulled off a huge upset on Saturday when they went into Ball Arena to face the defending champion Denver Nuggets. The Sixers were missing Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, De’Anthony Melton, Robert Covington and Mo Bamba, but they held a lead in the fourth quarter before letting it slip away.
Paul Reed delivered a career-high 30 points and 13 rebounds while Patrick Beverley had 17 points and 11 assists. Kelly Oubre Jr. also added 25 points while Marcus Morris Sr. had 17.
Overall, it was a terrific effort and it showed the fight the Sixers have developed under the guidance of coach Nick Nurse.
“Listen, we’re gonna go out there and try to do the best we can and execute the game plan and fight as hard as we can, right?” Nurse told reporters after the loss. “And you’re searching for things that you haven’t had to search for all year because so many guys are in so many different positions, right? Like, Paul Reed ends up being much more of offensive — Marcus Morris does. Pat Bev does. Kelly Oubre — everybody’s all of a sudden we got to search for what they can find in the game.”
It would have helped the Sixers if they had a better start. The Nuggets led by 10 in the opening quarter thanks to the strength of Jamal Murray, and Denver eventually wore them down in the fourth quarter to win it.
“Not good enough, got to be better, got to be better and we will,” Beverley added. “We have to find ways to win games without guys playing. We got enough talent around the room to get the job done, and we came up short and they shot 38 free throws.”
Again, the Sixers have to be proud of their effort on Saturday. Any other team would have wilted and taken a blowout loss, but the Sixers fought. That was a terrific showing by Nurse’s Sixers.
“I’m glad that we responded to an awful start, right?” Nurse added. “You just didn’t want to not and — then once we did that, we started going in some confidence. I always say that chemistry will build as the game goes on in these types of games. These guys get used to who’s out there and who’s playing and you just fight as hard as you can.”
[lawrence-related id=89665,89673,89654]