The new-look Philadelphia 76ers hosted the Western Conference power Denver Nuggets is a much-anticipated nationally-televised NBA matchup on the night Moses Malone’s number was retired.
The big news was supposed to be the debut of the Philadelphia 76ers ‘Big Four’ but it was the other guy, J.J. Redick, who turned out to be the standout star.
The 34-year-old Duke grad made 6/7 three-point attempts and finished with a game-high 34 points as the 76ers topped the Denver Nuggets, 117-110.
Philadelphia is now 35-20 on the season and tied with Boston for third place in the Eastern Conference. Denver, wrapping up a road trip in which they went 1-3, are 37-18 and second in the West.
Joel Embiid had been a game-time decision due to gastroenteritis and had an awful first half, going 1/12, but he looked better in the second half and finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks. His defense was key at the end.
The Nuggets, playing without starters Gary Harris and Paul Millsap due to injury, looked good, particularly center Nikola Jokic who had a triple double (27 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) and made a number of shots despite tough defense.
Denver took advantage of a poor ball-handling night from Ben Simmons (12 points, six assists), who committed nine turnovers, to keep up with the 76ers.
The game marked the 76ers debut of Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic, James Ennis III and Mike Scott.
Tied at 103-103 with four minutes left in the game, the Big Four (and Redick) simply took over as they overwhelmed Denver on both ends of the court and went on a 10-2 run to put away the game.
The Nuggets showed why only the Golden State Warriors have a better record in the Western Conference as, despite all the excitement about Tobias Harris & Co., Denver only trailed by a point, 83-82, after three periods.
The Sixers held as much as a 16-point lead in the second quarter but some defensive lapses, not unexpected considering all the new players, and strong play from Nikola Jokic allowed the Nuggets to tie the game, 56-56, by halftime.
In the first period the Sixers received an unexpected boost from Furkan Korkmaz, who many believed would no longer be on the team. With several of the new players unavailable, coach Brett Brown decided to ‘Pop the Kork’ who responded in less than three minutes with four points, including a thunderous dunk to end the quarter with the Sixers ahead, 33-23.
Jonathon Simmons, an athletic wing who was part of the Markelle Fultz trade, was unavailable but should be in uniform for their next game, which Fultz would not be if he was still around.
The 76ers are now 6-4 on their 12-game meatgrinder schedule against all winning teams. Next up are LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday in a game to be televised on ABC.
The Lakers are coming off a last-second win at Boston so they have some confidence and momentum and will be a much tougher out than when the Sixers dispatched them a couple weeks ago.