Third Quarter
Another sloppy start to a half as it took Portland three and a half minutes to score their first field goal. Oubre notched that seventh steal that led to a transition layup for Maxey. The Sixers’ offense wasn't humming either — they had a pair of costly offensive fouls. For as well as the Sixers are in generating deflections, both teams just seemed intent on throwing the ball away tonight.
Things looked a bit smoother when some shots started falling for Embiid again — after a slow start he was fairly steady from the midrange. Amidst all the careless passes that sailed into the stands or to the other team, Embiid did throw a really nice skip pass to Oubre who hit his first three in four games.
The Blazers also went without a field goal for the final 5:14 of the quarter, which the Sixers used to extend their lead 19. Embiid closed the quarter with a Euro step that also drew a foul on Clingan. George did have to sit late in the third again though after picking up his fifth foul, despite Nick Nurse trying to get overturned with a challenge.
Fourth Quarter
While Portland did start off the quarter with three straight triples, the Sixers let Embiid go to work in the post to keep them at bay. PG finally had a positive moment on the night with a steal and a transition dunk. After collapsing the defense and relocating to the corner, Maxey had the ball returned to him as he knocked down the open jumper to give the Sixers their largest lead of the night.
That positivity continued as George found a cutting Caleb Martin for a dunk after a cut of his own was stifled. He also knocked down a three as the lead continued to grow and the Sixers started to empty their bench. George finished with nine points on 4-of-9 shooting.
Said bench emptying did include a Sixers’ debut for one Pete Nance. He got a little less than three minutes of burn in garbage time, but he did get on the board for himself with a corner three.
The Sixers stay out West as they prepare for a back-to-back on Wednesday and Thursday. The first will be against the Kings at 10 p.m. ET. in Sacramento.
How about that, just a pleasant edition of #SixersAfterDark.
Philadelphia handled business taking down the Portland Trail Blazers 125-103 Monday night.
Joel Embiid led all scorers with 37 points, his new high mark for this season. He shot 12-of-21 from the field and 12-of-13 from the free throw line. It is already his fifth game in 11 appearances this season with 30 points.
Tyrese Maxey had 23 points shooting 7-of-13 from the field. Guerschon Yabusele went for 16 and Kelly Oubre Jr. finished with 15 points along with a career-high eight steals.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
First Quarter
After a challenge 30 seconds into the game, play was immediately sloppy as both teams combined to start this one 4-of-15 from the field. A lot of those missed shots came from the Sixers as they were out to an easy shot advantage. They racked up five steals within the first five minutes of the game. Oubre’s career high for steals in a game was six, and he had six in the first half.
Maxey was the quickest to get into a rhythm as he got on the board by swiping the ball away from David Avdija and finishing with an and-1 on the other end. He started out from outside, making two of his first three from behind the arc.
That shot advantage swung back quickly as Portland grabbed six offensive rebounds in the first quarter. They only had four second-chance points, but that time of possession helped them go on a 8-0 run late. Yabusele was responsible for the Sixers’ last six points of the quarter to keep them ahead by two as they slowed down again. Having him at the high post is very helpful when Maxey gets double teamed because he can actually pick apart a 4-on-3.
Second Quarter
It was a rough start for Embiid, going 2-of-7 from the floor with a turnover in his first stint. He split his first pair of free throws as well but appeared to settle in after sinking his next two. He hit a fadeaway from the midrange and a brilliant spin move around Deandre Ayton as the Sixers ripped off a 13-0 run.
Embiid might have gotten that run going but the highlight was easily this poster from Yabu on Avdija in transition. The bench was T’d up in celebration — it ultimately went to Kyle Lowry who was inactive tonight — but the Blazers missed the free throw because ball don’t lie. Yabu had 11 in the second as he shot 6-of-9 from the floor in the first half.
After dominating for most of the quarter, the Blazers were able to close the gap a bit. The Sixers only scored one field goal in the final 4:39 of the half. Something that only felt odd once the momentum stopped was that Paul George hadn’t returned to the game since picking up his third foul midway through the first. They kept it to a 10-point game when Oubre blocked an Anfernee Simons three.
The Sixers had a well-needed laugher against the Portland Trailblazers, blowing them out 125-103.
USA TODAY
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