Sixers embarrassed at home by Blazers despite Embiid's record quarter

The Blazers came into Philadelphia without CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic, and hours before tipoff found out five-time All-NBA point guard Damian Lillard would also miss the contest. Even knowing they would be missing Ben Simmons due to a tight calf, the Sixers had to feel comfortable with their chances.

So much for that. The Sixers were embarrassed 121-105 on Thursday night, snapping a four-game winning streak to drop to 16-7 on the season. They trailed by as many as 29. Had fans been in attendance, you can be certain that boos would have rained down hard.

The loss wiped away what was another brilliant individual scoring performance by Joel Embiid. The star center went for 37 points on 14-of-21 shooting. He scored 25 in the second period alone, matching the Sixers’ franchise record for points in a single quarter. Andrew Toney had a 25-point fourth quarter against the Celtics on March 21, 1982.

But it’s hard to get excited about any one. Tobias Harris double-doubled, scoring 12 and grabbing 11 rebounds, but he had more shot attempts (14) than points. Furkan Korkmaz scored 13 subbing in the starting lineup for Simmons, but he too struggled from the field (1-of-7 from deep, 5-of-14 overall) and didn’t come close to matching Simmons’ playmaking (two assists and turnovers apiece). Seth Curry was held scoreless for the second consecutive game, albeit in just 12 minutes. He did not play at all in the second half with what the team called an ‘illness’. The 6'2" guard previously missed six games after testing positive for COVID-19.

Chock this one up as one to simply forget. The Sixers nearly matched their 19 assists with 18 giveaways, they couldn’t hit anything from the perimeter (7-of-27 from three, including 0-of-10 in the first half), and they were crushed on the glass 53-37. Despite the scoring outburst, Embiid's 5 rebounds matched a season low.

An ascendant Gary Trent Jr. and a vintage Carmelo Anthony were the driving forces for the Blazers. The former poured in 24 and hit four of his 9 threes, while the latter added 22 on 14 shots, hitting on three of his own four shots from downtown. The future Hall of Famer came into the game averaging just 12.1 points on 37.2% shooting.

But they were hardly the only ones to step up against Philadelphia. Enes Kanter always seems to play well against the Sixers, and so it went in this one. The 28-year-old scored 17 points and hauled in 18 rebounds, seven on the offensive end. Fittingly, the Blazers almost tripled the Sixers in second chance points, 22-8. Portland also got at least 14 points each from Rodney Hood, CJ Elleby, and Anfernee Simons.

The story of this one, though, was the third quarter. The Sixers scuffled through the first 24 minutes, but Embiid’s singular brilliance kept them in the game and at halftime, things were knotted up at 57. But coming out of the break, the wheels completely came off.

Portland exploded with 14 straight within the first three minutes of the third quarter, and the game was essentially over. The Blazers won the period 40-19 and turned the Sixers over 9 times without coughing the ball up once themselves. Six different Blazers scored at least 5 points in the frame, and only Shake Milton could claim that for the Sixers. The Blazers led by double-digits the rest of the way.

The Sixers cannot afford to let this defeat be more than a blip on the radar. They host the new look Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night at 8 p.m. The Nets defeated the Sixers earlier in the year 122-109, and that was before adding three-time defending scoring champion James Harden. Since the deal, the trio of Harden, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant is combining for over 80 points per game.