GRADES: Los Angeles Clippers 136, Philadelphia 76ers 130
The Philadelphia 76ers fell short in a competitive game against the Los Angeles Clippers. An absolutely exciting afternoon, but lack of experience in the younger core showed late in the fourth. But there’s promise moving forward.
Shake Milton shook up the Staples Center with his outstanding performance, scoring a career-high 39 points on the afternoon. However, a few defensive errors in the second half led to the Clippers taking a larger lead in the third quarter. Although it looked like the Philadelphia 76ers had a chance to come back and win in the last few minutes of the game, key turnovers, defensive errors, and the inability to push the pace prevented it from getting done.
The Sixers add another loss to their away record and it doesn’t get any better, as they will need to come back to Staples Center on Monday night to face LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The one thing to look forward to moving forward is looking to Shake Milton as a perimeter weapon. Milton proved today that he can be a sharp shooter from the top of the key which is what the Sixers will need moving towards the last stretch and into the playoffs.
<h5><strong>41 mins | 25 pts | 4 reb | 4 ast | 1 stl | 0 blk | 1 TO | 11-21 FG | 3-7 3PT| 0-1 FT | 3 PF | -5 |</strong></h5><p><a rel=. SF. Philadelphia 76ers. TOBIAS HARRIS. B+
AL HORFORD. C. <h5><strong>29 mins | 12 pts | 8 reb | 6 ast | 1 stl | 2 blk | 2 TO | 4-11 FG | 1-4 3PT| 3-3 FT | 6 PF | +5 |</strong></h5><p><a rel=. PF. Philadelphia 76ers
A. <h5><strong>40 mins | 39 pts | 3 reb | 5 ast | 1 stl | 0 blk | 2 TO | 14-20 FG | 7-9 3PT| 4-5 FT | 5 PF | +4 |</strong></h5><p>Where to start with Shake Milton? He just had a marvelous afternoon showcasing his arsenal of offensive ability. He scored 26 points in the first half alone. And if that’s not impressive enough, he also tied the NBA record for the most consecutive threes in a game with 13 in a row over a three-game stretch. Milton was the scoring presence the Sixers were looking for all season. He complemented Tobias Harris very well in that he was able to create his own shot, even without calling for a screen up top. Moving forward, he is the key piece on the perimeter to look out for.</p>. SG. Philadelphia 76ers. SHAKE MILTON
B-. <h5><strong>25 mins | 15 pts | 6 reb | 3 ast | 0 stl | 0 blk | 1 TO | 5-13 FG | 3-7 3PT| 2-2 FT | 0 PF | -9 |</strong></h5><p><a rel=. SG. Philadelphia 76ers. ALEC BURKS
B. <h5><strong> 26 mins | 11 pts | 6 reb | 3 ast | 2 stl | 1 blk | 0 TO | 4-6 FG | 3-4 3PT| 0-0 FT | 5 PF | +0 |</strong></h5><p><a rel=. PF. Philadelphia 76ers. MIKE SCOTT
As identified multiple times throughout the broadcast, the key for the winning team was going to be on defense. This is where the Sixers missed Ben Simmons, because he is such a strong perimeter defender, which leads to fast break points.
Interestingly, today Brett Brown experimented with a zone defense. Again, this is to address the injury situation. Without Joel Embiid, the Sixers have no paint presence. But as we saw today, a contending team such as the Los Angeles Clippers will always have shooters moving to their spots in the corner or to the top of key, ready to fire a three-pointer at will.
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Today was an afternoon filled with promise from the Sixers’ youth, but some concern towards the team’s weaknesses without their two superstar players. The Sixers have three more games in this away stretch- back at Staples Center, at Sacramento, and at Golden State.