Key Takeaways: Philadelphia 76ers get blown out by Memphis Grizzlies 124-107
The short-handed 76ers drop another game.
Down Joel Embiid and Paul George, the Philadelphia 76ers (1-4) were blown out by the Memphis Grizzlies (4-3) 124-107, despite Memphis missing several key pieces as well.
The 76ers kept the game competitive in the first half – trailing by just seven points at intermission. Memphis then cracked the game open in the third quarter after going on an 18-6 run that Philadelphia couldn’t recover from.
Here’s what I saw:
Tyrese Maxey carried the offense… again
Tyrese Maxey was the only 76ers player to crack 20 points tonight – notching 23 points, 6 assists, and 3 steals, on 8-19 shooting from the field and 4-9 shooting from downtown.
Maxey provided his typical scoring impact – drilling threes off screens, improbable finishes at the rim, and even a baseline fall-away.
He used the defensive attention he drew to create open shots for his teammates, especially Kelly Oubre Jr, who finished with 14 points on 4-10 shooting from beyond the arc.
Jared McCain has career night
Jared McCain topped his performance against the Detroit Pistons tonight with a career-high 19 points and 4 rebounds, on 8-16 field shooting and 2-6 accuracy from three.
McCain was able to score in the restricted area by creating for himself off the dribble and attacking drop coverage off the pick-and-roll. The rookie also drilled his first NBA triple tonight.
The 76ers rookie has proven he belongs in the NBA, it’s just a matter of him developing as a dynamic offensive player.
76ers were dominated in the paint
Philadelphia was once again dominated in the restricted area as the Grizzlies scored 70 points in the paint and out-rebounded Philadelphia 52-33 – a consistent issue for the 76ers.
Ja Morant, who dropped 18 points and 12 assists, was the key to the Grizzlies’ interior success.
The 76ers collapsed onto Morant on nearly every drive – allowing the star guard to find cutters and shooters – including center Jay Huff, who shot 5-7 from deep and finished with 20 points.
Andre Drummond struggles
The physicality of the Grizzlies front-court proved too much for Andre Drummond as Santi Aldama and Zach Edey, who recorded his first double-double of his career, combined for 23 rebounds.
In a game where size was needed, Nick Nurse failed to play Drummond and Guerschon Yabusele together nor give rookie center Adem Bona any action but instead elected to play small.
Drummond finished with four points on 1-7 field shooting with a +/- of -15.
The 76ers start their three-game west coast road trip against the Phoenix Suns on Monday at 10:15 p.m. EST on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
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