DENVER — Aaron Gordon snuck a pass around Adem Bona, leaving the Nuggets’ DeAndre Jordan free for a rim-rocking dunk.
That put a finishing touch on a horrendous defensive performance by the 76ers, who dropped their seventh game in a row in a 144-109 blowout loss Tuesday night at Ball Arena. Following the game, multiple sources told The Inquirer they could hear screaming coming from the visitors’ locker room, which shares a wall with where the Nuggets’ postgame press conferences occur.
“It all boils down to we weren’t ready to go from the start,” coach Nick Nurse said. “I just talked to them about a few simple things. … Just were never really into the game enough to give enough fight defensively. We were back on our heels the whole time, not communicating well enough, not being physical enough to stand them up.
“In the open floor, we had guys back and they’d knock us all the way into the basket and lay it in. We just didn’t stand them up all night.”
This night was never going to live up to its “Rivals Week” labeling by the NBA, with 2023 MVP Joel Embiid sidelined with knee swelling and unable to match up against three-time MVP and fellow spectacular center Nikola Jokic, who recorded his league-best 19th triple-double of the season with 27 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists.
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Yet the Sixers’ porous defense was primarily to blame for the loss. They surrendered 39 fast-break points (the most by a Denver team in 15 years) and 23 second-chance points, allowed the Nuggets (27-16) to shoot 61.2% from the floor and 16-of-31 from three-point range, and gave up a season high in points. And it spoiled a night when the Sixers (15-27), who entered Tuesday ranked in the bottom 10 in the NBA in offensive efficiency, field-goal percentage, and three-point percentage, shot 52.1% overall and 13-of-29 from beyond the arc through three quarters, before both teams emptied their benches.
Tyrese Maxey initially attempted to keep the Sixers in the game with his shot-making, scoring 19 of his 28 points in the first half and also finishing the game with 10 assists. Guerschon Yabusele added 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting off the bench, while Paul George had 11 points, nine assists, and five rebounds in each player’s return from a two-game absence due to injury.
A Maxey floater briefly got the Sixers within eight in the third quarter’s opening minute, but Denver answered with an extended 24-12 run to push their lead to 20 points on a Russell Westbrook steal and layup.
Denver jumped out to a 12-point advantage in the first quarter, fueled by 18 fast-break points and 11 points and four assists from Jokic. In the next frame, when Maxey used a finish through contact and a three-pointer to get the Sixers within 49-44, a Julian Strawther deep shot sparked a 13-6 Denver run to push its lead back to double digits. That gap grew to 23 points on a Jokic three-pointer late in the third quarter, then to 35 on a Hunter Tyson three-pointer in the final minute.
Things don’t get any easier from here for the Sixers, who next play a home-road back-to-back against the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls, the team they are chasing for 10th place in the standings.
