Doesn’t matter who’s available, this team is not capable of playing a normal game.
Philadelphia fell to the Atlanta Hawks 142-134 Sunday evening, unable to capitalize on erasing a six-point deficit with 39 seconds left in regulation.
Tyrese Maxey finished strong after a slow start to lead all scorers with 44, shooting 14-of-31 from the floor along with seven rebounds and nine assists, but missed two free throws at the end of the first overtime. Quentin Grimes shook off a scary fall to go for 28 points on 8-of-15 shooting.
After missing his last nine games, Joel Embiid returned and put up 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting along with four rebounds, blowing past his minutes restriction for the first overtime but not the second, playing exactly 30:00 on the night.
VJ Edgecombe also came back after being out the last three and looked amazing defensively, but didn’t find many opportunities on the other end. He finished with just seven points on 3-of-6 shooting along with two rebounds, two assists and two steals playing 21 minutes.
Paul George had 14 points, shooting 6-of-17 from the floor along with five steals. Like Embiid, he ran out of minutes after the first OT, finishing at 28:02 minutes played. Jalen Johnson led the Hawks with 41.
The Sixers were only without Kelly Oubre Jr. and Trendon Watford while Atlanta presses on without Trae Young.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.