Snapshot:
It was a fight to the finish,but the 76ers (42-28), ultimately fell to the Portland Trail Blazers (33-39), 124-121.
After losing Joel Embiid (left ankle) after the game’s early minutes, the remaining Sixers rallied to a competitive outing and impressive second half. The club entered the evening without another All-Star, Ben Simmons (left knee).
Despite falling behind by as many as 17 in the first half, the Sixers second-half push kept them heavily competitive. They went up by six points, 114-108, on a Josh Richardson three in the final moments.
But Damian Lillard’s 51-point performance was enough to push Portland over the top. He scored seven points in a row during a 12-0 Blazer surge that decided the game.
Key Contributors:
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Josh Richardson
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Richardson finished with a season-high 34 points, shooting 13-for-20 from the field and 6-for-10 from long range. His six threes also tie his season-high.
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Alec Burks
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Burks scored 20-plus points for his second straight game (he scored 22 against the Magic Friday), hitting 8-for-14 from the field. He also totalled five rebounds and two assists.
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Tobias Harris
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Harris tallied 16 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. He shot 50.0% (2-4) from long range.
- Brown on Harris: “Not many nights do I think Tobias didn’t just play his heart out.”
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Al Horford
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Starting for the second straight game, Horford finished with 15 points, six rebounds, and five assists. He converted six of his nine field goal attempts.
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Matisse Thybulle
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Playing his heaviest minutes since the restart (33 min), Thybulle finished with a season-high nine rebounds (his previous season-high was five), along with three steals, three assists, and two points.
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Richardson on Thybulle: "He did a good job, I’ll take him in that matchup, 10 times out of 10. He’s a guy that I definitely want in my foxhole."
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Mike Scott
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Scott stepped in and stepped up, scoring nine points in 16 minutes of play. Scott finished at a team-high +5.
@Sixers Social:
Big night for J-Rich.
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Up Next:
The Sixers will meet the Phoenix Suns (31-39) for the second time this season. The Suns are the only remaining undefeated team inside the bubble, having won each of their five first outings since the restart.
In their Saturday win over the Miami Heat, Devin Booker led the Suns with 35 points, three rebounds and six assists.