PLAYER GRADES: Denver Nuggets 126, Philadelphia 76ers 110

Ben Simmons | Philadelphia 76ers (Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images)
Ben Simmons | Philadelphia 76ers (Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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To call the Philadelphia 76ers short-handed against the Western Conference power Denver Nuggets would be an optimistic evaluation. They were more like Ben Simmons and a couple of fingers.

Going in, this game had blowout with a capital ‘B’ written all over it yet a Philadelphia 76ers team playing without its entire starting frontcourt must be credited that they were in it until the final few minutes.

The Sixers were going to have a tough Saturday night even at full-strength, going against a Nuggets team with the second best record in the rugged West. Denver sported a 21-4 home record, and it is always tough for visitors playing in the thin Rocky Mountain air.

The 76ers were without Jimmy Butler (sprained right wrist), Wilson Chandler (strained hamstring) and Joel Embiid (load management). To add salt to the wound, Nuggets standout center Nikola Jokic was well-rested, as he had served a one-game suspension and missed Friday’s 132-95 win over Phoenix.

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The undermanned Sixers actually scored a bunch of points but could not keep pace with the unrelenting Denver Nuggets offensive onslaught, as they topped the 76ers, 126-110 at the Pepsi Center.

The key play came with six minutes, 55 seconds left, when Amir Johnson had what looked to be a three-point play that would have cut the Nuggets lead to nine got waived off on an iffy travel call.

The Sixers were actually only down two (77-75) after a J.J. Redick jumper two minutes into the second half. The Nuggets kept scoring against the defensively-challenged squad and were ahead 107-96 entering the fourth quarter..

Without its top two defensive players in Embiid and Butler and an above-average defender in Chandler, Denver had plenty of open shots.

The loss breaks a two-game winning streak for the Sixers while the Nuggets won their second game in a row.

The Sixers only trailed by one point (42-41) early in the second quarter but Simmons and others began missing shots they had been making, while the Nuggets continued to score inside and hit three-pointers. At halftime, Denver held a 77-68 lead, mostly due to a 42-22 advantage on points in the paint as they shot 55-percent from the field.

It only took Jokic eight-and-a-half minutes to score 17 points in the first period. The Sixers actually held a brief 33-31 lead as Corey Brewer made his first four shots before Denver came on to take a 41-37 lead by period’s end.

D+. <strong>35 mins | 19 pts | 12 reb | 4 ast | 0 stl | 0 blk | 3 TO | 6-17 FG | 0-1 3PT| 7-10 FT | 3 PF | -11| </strong><p>In a game where the Sixers needed Simmons to strap the team on his back, he produced a mediocre performance. Forced to play almost entirely power forward because most of the bench were guards, Simmons was ineffective stopping the Nuggets inside and missed a number of fairly easy shots on the offensive end. He did attempt a 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter, and it was not that far off.</p>. PF. Philadelphia 76ers. BEN SIMMONS

C+. <strong>27 mins | 22 pts | 2 reb | 3 ast | 0 stl | 0 blk | 2 TO | 9-19 FG | 4-10 3PT| 0-0 FT | 2 PF | -19|</strong><p>Without his two-man game buddy Embiid, Redick had to work a lot harder to get open. He found some cracks in the Denver defense and finished with a team-high 22 points. He struggled on defense but his shooting kept the team in contention for a while.</p>. SG. Philadelphia 76ers. J.J. REDICK

Philadelphia 76ers. COREY BREWER. A. <strong>32 mins | 20 pts | 6 reb | 2 ast | 4 stl | 0 blk | 1 TO | 7-15 FG | 1-4 3PT| 5-6 FT | 4 PF | -10|</strong><p>Brewer celebrated getting that second 10-day contract and third straight start by going 5-for-5 for 14 points to start. He struggled after that, going just 2-for-10 as he appeared to be pressing with the Nuggets scoring virtually at will. However, he kept hustling and being a pest on defense. One must wonder if Brewer looks so good because the rest of the bench is not so good.</p>. SF

SG. Philadelphia 76ers. SHAKE MILTON. A. <strong>20 mins | 11 pts | 1 reb | 1 ast | 1 stl | 1 blk | 0 TO | 4-7 FG | 3-5 3PT| 0-0 FT | 2 PF | +3|</strong><p>Shake it up baby! The only Sixer to finish in the plus category,  He showed what a steal he was as the 54th pick in the 2018 draft as he came out firing from beyond the three-point line the moment he stepped on the court. Despite not finding out he was going on the long West Coast trip until 48 hours beforehand, he showed no signs of nerves.</p>

<strong>27 mins | 10 pts | 6 reb | 1 ast | 1 stl | 0 blk | 3 TO | 3-9 FG | 3-7 3PT| 1-2 FT | 1 PF | -3|</strong><p>Another veteran the Sixers really needed to light it up who finished merely OK. Came out strong, knocking down three three-pointers but mostly misfired the rest of the way. On the defensive end,  he was way out of his element trying to stop Nikola Jokic and Mason Plumlee in the low post.</p>. F-C. Philadelphia 76ers. MIKE MUSCALA. C

The Nuggets raised their record to 33-15 and are a game-and-a-half behind Golden State for best record in the West. The 76ers are now 32-18 and in fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

Embiid, Chandler and possibly Butler are expected back for the Sixers next game, a 10:30 p.m. (ET) matchup at the Staples Center against the Los Angeles Lakers, who might have LeBron James. He has been out since Christmas with a groin injury.

Next. Corey Brewer's 10-day contract gives 76ers flexibility. dark

Jokic and then James returning to their respective team’s lineup to face the Sixers in consecutive games. Now wouldn’t that be special?