The Philadelphia 76ers were looking to build on a three-game winning streak as they hit the road on Wednesday to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Sixers had been finding ways to win despite missing many different pieces of their roster.
The Cavs brought them back to earth rather quickly on Wednesday. Cleveland scored a ridiculous 44 points in the second quarter on insane 16-for-17 shooting, and they led by as many as 33 on their way to a 113-85 win over Philadelphia.
The Sixers looked weary. Joel Embiid led the way with 19 points, but on 6-for-16 shooting.
There wasn’t much the Sixers could take from this loss to the Cavs, so as they move on to the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, coach Doc Rivers is flushing this one.
“We’re not gonna learn anything from this,” Rivers told reporters. “We just throw this away and then go on to Memphis. That’s how I felt.”
The Sixers have to get ready for Ja Morant and a very talented Memphis team that plays well at home. It has the same qualities of the Grit N Grind Memphis teams in the early 2010s with Mike Conley, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol.
“They have a pretty good guard, but they’re just deep,” Rivers added. “They’re long, they play hard, they got a lot of grit, you know? They’re an athletic version of the Grit N Grind team. Their same grittiness, but now they’re athletic as well.”
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