The Philadelphia 76ers won’t have much time to dwell on a 112-107 loss against the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday in New York.
Less than 24 hours later, the Sixers will be back home to oppose the depleted Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.
Kelly Oubre Jr. led five Philadelphia players in double figures with 30 points at Brooklyn. Tobias Harris scored 18 points, Cameron Payne added 15, Kyle Lowry contributed 14 and Buddy Hield had 13. Payne had been questionable due to an illness.
The 76ers looked to be heading to their third straight victory before they were outscored 32-24 in the fourth quarter.
“We made some not-so-smart plays,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said. “We played pretty good. We just didn’t play well enough to win.”
The short-handed Sixers are expected to be without Tyrese Maxey, who is dealing with a concussion. Joel Embiid (knee), De’Anthony Melton (back) and Robert Covington (knee) remain sidelined.
Even though Maxey played the whole fourth quarter in Philadelphia’s Sunday win over the Dallas Mavericks, he was held out against the Nets.
“It was a delayed, mild concussion,” Nurse said. “I’m not a doctor, but that’s what they told me. I guess they didn’t really see the symptoms right away, and then he wakes up the next day and they’re there.”
With Maxey in the league’s concussion protocol, there is not an exact timeline for his return.
“I would assume he’s going to be out (against the Grizzlies),” Nurse said. “We’re not rushing it. This kind of stuff, you can’t rush, you don’t rush. He’s got to meet all the steps to return to play anyway.”
Maxey was named an All-Star this season for the first time in his career.
The Grizzlies will arrive in Philadelphia following a 106-102 win over the Nets on Monday. It was a rare victory for an injury-plagued squad.
Memphis remains without Ja Morant (shoulder), Marcus Smart (finger), Desmond Bane (ankle), Derrick Rose (back) and Brandon Clarke (Achilles), while Ziaire Williams (wrist) and Yuta Watanabe (back) will miss their second and third consecutive game, respectively.
On the plus side, Jaren Jackson Jr. (quad) was listed as questionable to face the Sixers.
Luke Kennard led the Grizzlies with season-best totals of 25 points and six 3-pointers against the Nets. Jake LaRavia added 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Lamar Stevens had 13 points.
Kennard added seven assists and stabilized the offense. With only nine available players, the Grizzlies needed his production.
“It definitely feels good to get a game like that and on top of it to get a win,” Kennard said. “We’ve struggled the last five, six games here. We have some young guys out there. Just continuing to try to be a leader for them and just trying to make the right plays.
“It definitely felt good to knock a few shots down as well.”
Memphis’ Taylor Jenkins picked up his 200th career win, joining Lionel Hollins as the only coaches in franchise history to reach that milestone. Hollins accumulated 214 career wins with team from 2008-09 to 2012-13.
–Field Level Media