I’m not hitting the panic button yet, but damn, things are getting ugly for the Philadelphia 76ers. Another fourth quarter comeback came up short and the Brooklyn Nets ended the game on an 11-2 run to beat the Sixers 114-105.

It was the third straight loss for the Sixers. Tonight, they lost to a Nets team without James Harden, Joe Harris, Lamarcus Aldrige, Bruce Brown, James Johnson, DeAndre Bembry, and Paul Millsap.

Sound familiar…?

The only reason that the Sixers were close in this game was the combination of Joel Embiid and Seth Curry. Embiid lead Philadelphia in scoring, rebounds, and assists (32/9/6) and Curry connected on 62% of his shots en route to 29 points. The two man game between these two is the only thing holding this offense above water, and appears to be the only thing Doc Rivers has in his playbook.

A major part of the Sixers’ comeback in this second half was credit to their role players. Andre Drummond and Matisse Thybulle amped up the defensive effort and combined for five steals between them. Shake Milton was the third highest scorer in this game with 13 points and contributed in the stretch that got the Sixers back in the game.

It’s clear that the fans are starting to turn sour on Tobias Harris, and his play tonight is more fuel to the fire. Harris only scored 11 points on 3/17 shooting, he’s looked lost a lot of the time this season. He lost the decisiveness that he possessed last season and hasn’t been aggressive at the right times consistently. On a night where teams make a concerted effort to shut down Embiid, he has to be able to step up on a nightly basis, he hasn’t been able to do that this season.

The 76ers have now dropped three consecutive games, and fall to .500 on the season. With this loss, Philadelphia is now down to the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. Luckily, they get two full days off and get to play a poor Pelicans squad at home on Sunday where they should be able to pick up an easy win.

Mandatory Credit: Mary Altaffer