Without Embiid, Sixers come up short against Grizzlies in Morant's return

One of the Sixers early season bugaboos reared its ugly head again in Saturday evening’s sloppy 106-104 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies that dropped their record to 9-5.

Turnovers.

The Sixers committed 22. They are third in the league averaging 17.4 per game and hand it over on 15.0% of their possessions overall. The Grizzlies only scored 9 points off the turnovers, but in a winnable game, coughing up the ball so frequently stalled momentum and contributed to a disjointed, inefficient offense playing without Joel Embiid, who remained in Philadelphia for treatment for knee soreness. Philadelphia shot just 44.0% from the field, including only 7-for-25 (28.0%) from 3.

Ben Simmons could not carry the load in Embiid’s absence. While he did grab 16 rebounds and hand out 9 assists, he was also responsible for seven of the team’s turnovers. He also scored just 11 points and took on a mere 9 shots. Even with the weapons the team added in the offseason, the 6’10” guard’s passivity has been a troubling trend all season. He has attempted less than ten shots from the floor in 8 of his 12 games, and his season high in scoring is only 17 points. Only five times has he scored even 15 points.

Simmons was not alone in his struggles though. Dwight Howard had his moments standing in for Embiid, inhaling 18 boards, blocking 3 shots and finishing a +3. He added only 8 points however, and after coming into the contest with the second highest free throw percentage of his career (61.5), he missed 6 of his 8 attempts from the charity stripe, including all four of his fourth quarter attempts during a furious Sixers comeback bid.

Tobias Harris was more aggressive than usual for his 21 points, bullying his way to seven free throws, but he was only 7-for-17 from the field and added to Philadelphia’s turnover woes with five of his own. Danny Green came back to earth after a 2-game stretch that saw him score 41 points and hit 13 of his 28 threes. He scored 8 points and went 1-for-4 from deep, though the Sixers were +9 in his 36 minutes.

The one unassailable positive that can be taken from this one was the continued breakout of third-year guard Shake Milton. He exploded for 28 points off the bench—his third consecutive 20-plus point affair—and was on the floor for the entire fourth quarter as the Sixers clawed their way back into the contest.

Memphis seemed to be buoyed by the surprise return of sophomore phenom Ja Morant. After suffering a grade 2 left ankle sprain on December 28, the point guard was expected to miss 3-to-5 weeks recovering, but he reentered the starting lineup just 20 days later. He seemed no worse for the wear, as he led the Grizzlies with 17 points and six assists in his 31 minutes. His signature explosion was on full display on an alley-oop slam courtesy of Kyle Anderson early in the second quarter.

The energy and athleticism of Memphis gave the Sixers problems all night. While they didn’t shoot the ball particularly effectively—43.9% from the field, 27.6% from beyond the arc—they attempted 14 more shots than the Sixers, only turned the ball over 11 times, and outscored Philadelphia on fast breaks 20-14. The Grizzlies bench also played a significant role in this one, with Grayson Allen, Desmond Bane and Xavier Tillman combined for 37 points and six 3-pointers.

After never trailing in the first quarter and closing it with a 26-25 lead, the Sixers opened the second quarter surrendering an 15-8 run over a four-minute span fueled by 8 points from Morant. They fought back to take a 51-50 lead over the middle minutes of the frame, but a 10-3 response from the Grizzlies left them trailing 60-54 at halftime. Memphis padded their lead in a third quarter that the Sixers could only muster 22 points. After 3, the Grizzlies were on top 88-76.

An early fourth quarter bucket extended the deficit to 14, but the Sixers found a way to chip at the lead. Milton was the driving force, scoring 15 in the frame. With under 90 seconds to go, a Harris jumper brought the Sixers within a single point at 105-104. A turnover by Morant with 18 seconds to go gave the Sixers the ball to hold for a final shot, but Harris stepped out of bounds with 5 remaining.

The Sixers still had one final chance after Morant missed the second of a pair of free throws. Simmons grabbed the rebound and the Sixers broke out. He pushed the ball ahead to rookie Tyrese Maxey who launched a 25-footer as time expired, but the shot did not go.

Philadelphia has a chance to salvage its road trip Sunday night at 7 p.m. in Oklahoma City. The Thunder have been surprisingly competitive in what is supposed to be a rebuilding year, starting off 6-6. They are led by promising third-year guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 21.6 points per game.

This Sixers will also encounter a familiar face in Al Horford, Oklahoma City’s starting center. The veteran big man spent last season in Philadelphia. He supplied 11.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game but proved to be a poor fit with Embiid in the frontcourt. He was jettisoned to the Thunder in the offseason as part of a deal that returned Terrance Ferguson, Danny Green and Vincent Poirier.