Tyrese Maxey made his highly anticipated return as the Philadelphia 76ers faced the New Orleans Pelicans. Following their first loss after an eight-game winning streak, the Sixers couldn't take down one of the best teams in the league, losing by a score of 127-116.
Let's break down the Sixers' loss to the Pelicans.
Sixers player analysis:
Joel Embiid: 37 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 14-22 FG shooting
Embiid got his night started with an emphatic dunk on a drive down the lane. He got to his spots with ease despite his defender, Jonas Valanciunas, being one of the few players who can size up to him. His dominance early on was overshadowed by the opposition's stars but he had 20 points on 8-10 shooting at the half.
He got Valanciunas to commit his fourth foul early in the third quarter and even the Pelicans' two-center bench unit couldn't do a thing against him. His value on defense was perhaps even greater, as nothing stood in the way of the bucket for Williamson (and other Pelicans) when he was on the bench. It was another huge scoring night but he was also careless with the ball often and had five fouls.
Tyrese Maxey: 9 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 4-10 FG shooting
Coming off the bench in his first game since Nov. 18, Maxey was definitely trying to find himself on the court again. He didn't attack downhill initially but he certainly wasn't coasting. He was attentive on defense and stayed active in the offense.
In the second half, Maxey looked more comfortable trying to go to the hoop. His highlight of the night was a sweet reverse layup on a baseline attack. Doc Rivers made good on his pregame promise to not play Maxey too much, as he logged only 18 minutes. When the young buck gets his legs under him for real, he will be a huge, huge help for Philly.
James Harden: 20 points, 1 rebound, 10 assists, 7 turnovers, 5-8 FG shooting
Harden made some nice passes in the first quarter and then was tasked with putting out the fire the Sixers caused when its bench unit floundered. The results were mixed. Overall, he shot very efficiently but had five first-half turnovers and failed attempts to get past a defender he should have on numerous occasions.
It wasn't the prettiest game for The Beard but he still found ways to score. Still, his turnovers were just brutal to watch and he had to make a lot of tough shots to be impactful in this one.
Tobias Harris: 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 5-10 FG shooting
Harris finally made a triple (two of them, in fact) after going 0-9 from deep in the prior two games. He still shot with confidence, as sharpshooters do, and escaped his funk from downtown. With some determined drives to the hoop and respectable defense, he still had himself a nice performance.
Pelicans player analysis:
Zion Williamson: 36 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 13-19 FG shooting
Williamson was close to blowing the roof off of the Smoothie King Center twice with some failed lob attempts in the first quarter. Although he missed the chance for a couple of huge highlights, he still had his way with the Sixers' defense. The graceful yet blunt-force power he shows when he gets downhill is just remarkable.
On defense, though, he wasn't able to consistently get stops and was challenged a lot down the stretch because of it. His ability to get downhill allowed him to overcome those shortcomings, though, and he had himself a fantastic night.
CJ McCollum: 42 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 13-20 FG shooting, 11-16 3PT shooting
McCollum was simply on fire. He scored 23 points in his first half, shooting 8-14 from the field and 7-11 from deep. Although he handled the ball a lot, the rest of the Pelicans knew to look for him when he didn't have it, and he made Philly pay for its offensive mistakes numerous times with some back-breaking transition threes. With 11 triples, McCollum set a new career high and franchise high for New Orleans. Only one player (2004-05 Donyell Marshall) has made more triples against the Sixers in one game.
Game notes:
1st half
- The Sixers looked to play with some serious tempo to start off. In the first three minutes, they scored 10 points and didn't let the Pelicans get a field goal. Harden fed the guys who got ahead of the defense for easy baskets. The Pelicans went on a McCollum-led run to get back into it.
- Maxey first checked into the game with 5:21 left in the first quarter, subbing in for Harden. He was put right on the ball to lead the offense and, although he wasn't super aggressive, he did a good job of keeping the ball moving and took a few triples when he got the opportunity.
- Of all the Pelicans' bench guys, it was Willy Hernangomez who got hot to start off. As the roller in pick-and-rolls, he scored seven points in just two minutes. Eventually, the usual stars took over.
- Williamson just bullied the heck out of a Sixers frontcourt of P.J. Tucker, Georges Niang and Montrezl Harrell. He scored layups on his first four offensive possessions, making Philly's bigs look hopeless as the Pelicans took a double-digit lead. Once he took a seat, McCollum then led the Pels' second unit and scorched Philly with some outstanding shooting from deep.
- The Sixers went on a 14-4 run once the starters returned and they trailed by just seven points at halftime, 67-60. Philly had 13 turnovers and New Orleans scored 25 points off of them.
2nd half
- Tucker guarded Williamson often and deserves credit for forcing him into jumpers on several occasions. Williamson, though, was able to hit them. Tucker playing with a hand/nerve injury is certainly his call but Rivers should consider cutting him some slack.
- The Pelicans just could not stop Embiid. But the same could be said of the Sixers and the McCollum-Williamson tandem. They broke the Sixers' defense time after time and made the tough shots to make it feel like a truly long night for one of the NBA's better defensive units.
- Maxey looked better in the second half than the first but still didn't show the blazing speed we're accustomed to seeing. It will probably take some more time to get that quick first step back.
- Williamson once again had it so easy with Embiid out. However, he was also targeted on defense and Harden found his way to points on numerous occasions. Harden still had issues getting around him and other slower-footed defenders but he was just in a shooting (and foul-drawing) groove.
- The Sixers couldn't pull away late thanks to poor offensive execution, fouls and turnovers, losing their second straight.
Stray thoughts:
- Zion and CJ were fun to watch and all that, yeah yeah. Let me give some credit to Jose Alvarado, who is an absolute menace with a nonstop motor. He may be one of the few non-stars that NBA players truly loathe playing against.
- The NBC Philly broadcast team did not have its best night. For a minutes-long stretch, the game and/or the audio just went kaput.
The Sixers will finish their road trip on New Year's Eve against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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