Skeleton crew Sixers fall to Nuggets despite Maxey's 39

In a game that wasn’t even certain to be played until just hours before tipoff, the Sixers could not overcome extremely limited player availability, falling 115-103 to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday afternoon. The loss was the team’s second in a row following a five-game win streak and dropped the team to 7-3.

Philadelphia was without numerous key players due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols including 60% of its normal starting lineup in Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, and Joel Embiid. Several others had already been ruled out due to injuries, and after Friday’s round of contact tracing stemming from Curry’s positive COVID-19 test, the Sixers were left with a seven-man rotation. The league mandates that teams have at least 8 active players, forcing head coach Doc Rivers to list Mike Scott as active despite the forward previously being ruled out with a knee injury.

Ultimately, the Sixers opening lineup echoed the Process-era rosters with aging vets and inexperienced youngsters: Tyrese Maxey and Isaiah Joe in the backcourt, Dakota Mathias and Danny Green as the forwards, and Dwight Howard manning center.

The Nuggets took full advantage of the skeleton crew they faced, and didn’t have a single player reach even 30 minutes. Center Nikola Jokic entered the game as an early MVP-candidate with season averages of 25.9 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 10.9 assists. Despite falling short of those lofty numbers, he still controlled the tempo of the game, posting 15, 9 and 12 and finishing a game-high +24.

Gary Harris led the Nuggets with 21 points, hitting on five of his eight 3-point attempts. Will Barton and Jamal Murray added 14 apiece in an extremely balanced scoring effort that saw seven players score at least 9 points and six reach double figures.

All things considered, the shorthanded Sixers competed quite well against a legitimate Western Conference contender. The rookies in particular gained valuable experience and a chance to flex their skills a bit. Isaiah Joe offered a taste of the sharpshooting the Sixers coveted when they selected him with the 49th pick in June’s draft, draining three first quarter 3-pointers. Forward Paul Reed, playing on a two-way contract, saw game action for just the second time all season and collected 7 rebounds to go along with solid defense, and even finished a team-high +13.

But the biggest bright spot was the play of Tyrese Maxey. The 6’ 3” combo guard had the best game of his young career, exploding for 39 points. He showcased a complete scoring arsenal, getting to the basket for layups, peppering in pull-up 3-pointers, and changing speeds and angles smoothly to create space, terrific signs for a team that has been starved for true secondary shot creation. The 39 points were the most of any rookie so far this season, and the most by a Sixers rookie since Allen Iverson dropped 40 on April 14, 1997 against Washington, then nicknamed the Bullets. Not bad company to keep.

Behind Maxey’s 22 first half points and a feisty spirit, the Sixers only trailed 58-51 at the break.

In the third quarter, however, Denver took command of the game. Two minutes into the frame, Harris buried a triple off a Jokic feed to put the Nuggets up 65-55 kicking off a 13-3 run, and the Sixers never recovered. The lead never again fell below double digits, swelling to as many as 22 points.

Philadelphia next plays in Atlanta on Monday night at 7:30p.m. against the Hawks. After beginning the season 3-0, the Hawks have lost five of six including each of their last four.