3 observations after Sixers get smoked by Clippers without Embiid and George – NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers never flirted with earning their first winning streak of the season on Sunday night.

They were instead smoked by the Clippers and fell to 3-13 with a 125-99 loss at the Wells Fargo Center.

Jared McCain scored 18 points and Tyrese Maxey had 17.

James Harden posted 23 points and eight assists for the 11-7 Clippers. Derrick Jones Jr. added 18 points and Ivica Zubac had 16 points and 12 rebounds.

The Sixers were still missing Joel Embiid (left knee swelling), Paul George (left knee bone bruise) and Kyle Lowry (right hip strain). Lowry watched from the sidelines in a Philadelphia Eagles sweatshirt and a jumbo-sized Eagles hat.

Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said before the game that both Embiid and George are “progressing.” He said George was on the court Saturday and the swelling in Embiid’s knee has subsided.

The Clippers were down Kawhi Leonard (right knee injury recovery) and Norman Powell (left hamstring strain).

Next up for the Sixers is a matchup with the 12-6 Rockets on Wednesday. Here are observations on their loss to the Clippers:

The Sixers immediately fall into the big hole

The Sixers used the same starting lineup as in their Friday night win over the Nets, playing Kelly Oubre Jr., Caleb Martin and Guerschon Yabusele with a Maxey-McCain backcourt.

They quickly learned to play catch-up. Put-back layups by Zubac and Jones prompted an early nurse timeout. The Clippers tallied nine second-chance points in the first six minutes, and the Sixers looked decidedly undersized.

A 1-for-9 start from three-point range compounded the Sixers’ woes. Yabusele and Andre Drummond were each whistled for illegal ball screens in the first quarter.

On the other end, the Clippers had no trouble picking apart the Sixers defense as they hedged and beat Harden in the pick-and-roll. Harden poured in a dozen points in the first quarter, including a pull-up three that extended the Clippers’ lead to 32-13.

No encore for McCain and Maxey

The Maxey-McCain duo did not pick up where it left off on Friday. Much of their production came when the game was out of reach in the second half.

McCain’s streak of games with 20 or more points ended at seven games.

At times, McCain was not in his normal mode of forcing the opposition to react, instead he hesitated and was a little too deliberate in the face of sharp defenders. He also simply missed jumpers that he is used to hitting. McCain fell to 1 for 8 from the field in the second quarter with a three-point attempt that rattled around the rim and out.

Maxey was too peripheral in a scoreless first quarter, starting 1 for 5 from the floor. He played 30 minutes in his third game since returning from a right hamstring strain.

No shortage of garbage time

The Clippers missed several long-range shots in the second quarter as the Sixers switched to a zone defense. However, the Sixers couldn’t muster a serious run and went into halftime with a 12-point deficit.

In the first minute of the third quarter, Maxey grabbed his right ankle after missing a driving layup and landed awkwardly. The play seemed momentarily worrisome — almost everything injury-related right now for the Sixers — but Maxey stayed in and seemed fine physically.

The Clippers were vastly superior to the Sixers across the board to begin the third quarter. Two of Harden’s 12 free throws extended LA’s advantage to 20 points. A Kris Dunn fast-break layup built the Clippers’ 30-point lead, and part of the home crowd responded with boos.

Maxey and McCain provided some scoring late in the third and early in the fourth quarter, but the Clippers clearly had a sure win.

Adem Bona and two-way contract players Lester Quinones and Justin Edwards all played in the fourth quarter. They got at least one win on Sunday – featuring the G League’s Delaware Blue Coats over the Westchester Knicks.