PLAYER GRADES: Philadelphia 76ers 111, New Orleans Pelicans 110
By Sam Coltrane
The Philadelphia 76ers survived a late New Orleans surge to take victory on the road without Joel Embiid.
The Philadelphia 76ers entered New Orleans with a 14-14 record on the road and looked to get a win pushing them above .500 on the road for the first time this season.
Philadelphia began the game slow with only six points in nearly the first five minutes of action before erupting for 25 over the final seven minutes. Philadelphia closed out the first quarter with a 31-24 lead.
Ben Simmons came out in the second quarter pushing the ball every chance. A highlight behind-the-back lay-in and another clear lane led to four Simmons’ points. The rest of the Philadelphia unit contributed as well as they entered halftime leading 65-52.
New Orleans came out in the second half and continued the barrage of paint scoring they had begun in the second quarter. Without Embiid, Philadelphia gave up 59 points between the two middle quarters with only four field goals coming from outside the paint. Despite the lack of interior defense, Philadelphia entered the fourth quarter with a 10-point lead, 93-83.
The fourth quarter appeared as though Philadelphia would take an easy win on the road as they led 110-100 with less than three minutes remaining. However, New Orleans worked their way back as Philadelphia couldn’t score a field goal and managed only 1-4 from the free throw line in that time.
While Philadelphia did manage to hold on for the road win 111-110, a perhaps significant loss was seeing Boban Marjanovic collapse to the floor as his legs were rolled up on late in the fourth. Marjanovic was clearly in pain and needed to be helped off the floor.
<strong>38 mins | 29 pts | 10 reb | 3 ast | 0 stl | 2 blk | 2 TO | 10-16 FG | 2-8 3PT| 7-8 FT | 0 PF | -1 |</strong><p>Tobias Harris provided an efficient, low-volume 29 points as he shot 63 percent from the floor. Harris didn’t have his best three-point shooting game, but his floor spacing did provide needed room for the motion offense to run. A missed free throw in clutch time helped New Orleans, but Harris was clearly the best player on the floor for either team tonight.</p>. PF. Philadelphia 76ers. TOBIAS HARRIS. A
Philadelphia 76ers. BEN SIMMONS. B-. <strong>34 mins | 14 pts | 13 reb | 2 ast | 1 stl | 1 blk | 3 TO | 7-16 FG | 0-1 3PT| 0-0 FT | 2 PF | -5 |</strong><p>Simmons aggressiveness in the first half was what helped to build their 12-point advantage at halftime. He even attempted another three in the first half. His aggression ended when he came back out for the second half. Tonight, was another prime example of the difference when Simmons plays aggressively versus passively.</p>. PG
JIMMY BUTLER. D+. <strong>34 mins | 11 pts | 7 reb | 7 ast | 2 stl | 1 blk | 3 TO | 5-16 FG | 0-2 3PT| 1-2 FT | 1 PF | -6 |</strong><p>Jimmy Butler had one of his worst performances during his time with Philadelphia. It wasn’t all awful as he filled the stat sheet and blocked the game-winning attempt by New Orleans. That won’t keep Butler from earning a poor grade. When he first arrived in Philadelphia, he made multiple buzzer beating shots and looked like the closer Philadelphia needed. Without Embiid, the hope was to see him step up even further. That was not the case tonight.</p>. SF. Philadelphia 76ers
D+. <strong>35 mins | 16 pts | 3 reb | 3 ast | 2 stl | 0 blk | 2 TO | 5-16 FG | 3-9 3PT| 3-5 FT | 3 PF | +/- 0 |</strong><p>J.J. Redick appears to be missing Embiid. The sizable screens that Embiid sets often allows for the constantly moving Redick to tire his defender and create just enough space to shoot. Redick did make several threes and played hard. However, tonight also served as a reminder just how much of Redick’s value is derived from his shooting and spacing while also highlighting the value driven from his two-man game with Embiid.</p>. SG. Philadelphia 76ers. J.J. REDICK
B-. <strong>30 mins | 12 pts | 2 reb | 2 ast | 0 stl | 0 blk | 5 TO | 4-9 FG | 4-5 3PT| 0-0 FT | 2 PF | +4 |</strong><p>Mike Scott was valuable for Philadelphia by spacing the floor as their only efficient three-point shooter of the night. Scott converted 4-5 from three. He also only provided two assists and rebounds while turning the ball over five times. His defense and lack of toughness on the glass were exposed as Julius Randle pulled down six offensive rebounds. Ultimately, it wasn’t a great game from Scott, but his floor spacing slightly outweighed his deficiencies with no one else on Philadelphia having a good shooting night.</p>. PF. Philadelphia 76ers. MIKE SCOTT
Next. Butler's changing role since Harris trade. dark
Philadelphia will be on the road again for their next game as they look to seek revenge on the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night.