PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid watched from the sideline as the Philadelphia 76ers failed to complete their comeback against the Brooklyn Nets.

The big man, in the wake of another game where his knee issues were apparent, didn’t play a second of the fourth quarter, in which the Sixers outscored the Nets by five but failed to secure the win. Nic Claxton's buzzer-beating putback gave Brooklyn a 105-103 victory and Philly its seventh straight defeat.

Tyrese Maxey, Quentin Grimes, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Paul George closed the game with Guerschon Yabusele at center. That quintet played the final 8:47 of the game, chipping away at a seven-point deficit and going up by three with just under three minutes left. After losing the lead, Maxey nailed a three to tie the game up with 23 seconds left. But after trailing by as much as 17 earlier in the game, it was too little, too late.

What was Nick Nurse's rationale for not bringing his franchise player back into the game? “Well, that group was just playing so well together and had a good feel for the game at that point and just wanted to let 'em roll with it,” he said.

Although Embiid wasn’t having his best game, the Sixers keeping him on the bench deprived them of size and scoring/playmaking abilities. Claxton flying in for the offensive board exemplified what they lacked in the game-deciding sequence. It was a risky move to keep Embiid on the bench and it did not pay off.

76ers keep Joel Embiid on bench for whole fourth quarter in loss to Nets

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Yabusele made a huge impact down the stretch of the game but was only the fourth player off the bench for the 76ers. Lonnie Walker IV and David Roddy checked in before him, as did Andre Drummond, who ended up not playing in the second half.

“We wanted to try to play Yabu at the four. That was that,” Nurse said. “Drum went in there and played okay except for the fouls.”

Drummond recorded six points, three rebounds and three fouls in 4:39.

“I didn't mind the matchup with Yabu on [Trendon] Watford, actually,” Nurse continued. “I think he was doing the best job of keeping him out of the paint. But then in the second half, it became more of a speed thing I think on the outside, which is why we went with Yabu in the second half.”

Embiid — who tallied 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists on 4-13 field-goal shooting in his 31 minutes — declined to talk to reporters after the game. The 76ers, at 20-36, own the worst active losing streak in the league at seven. Any hope that they can make something of this season is dwindling.