The Philadelphia 76ers did not have a pleasant visit to the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night. They fell 124-114 while exceedingly short-handed. Philadelphia did not have key reserve wing players Kelly Oubre Jr., Danuel House Jr. and Jaden Springer. Even more significantly, they were missing star big man Joel Embiid, who was out due to an illness.
With Embiid not out there to protect the rim, the Pelicans dominated in the paint and on the glass. They outrebounded the Sixers, 40-30, and they scored 60 points in the paint.
New Orleans also shot 34 free throws compared to 18 for Philadelphia, which led to some frustration from the Sixers. Robert Covington picked up a technical foul in the third quarter when he was talking to fans courtside and he said something the officials didn’t like. Coach Nick Nurse picked up a tech 20 seconds into the fourth quarter.
“It was a tough night in a lot of ways and that was just another thing that was tough for us to handle,” Nurse told reporters after the loss. “We’ve got to be better there.”
All night, the Sixers threw their hands up in frustration with the officiating. Nurse was beside himself on the sidelines while the players voiced their displeasure on the floor. All of it led to a tough night for Philadelphia and the Sixers now have to pick themselves up and move on to face the Boston Celtics on Friday.
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