March 18, 2026, 5:31 a.m. ET
The Philadelphia 76ers paid a visit to the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night as an undermanned group. The Sixers were missing Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Jabari Walker while the Nuggets were a healthy group. The result was a predictable 124-96 loss on the road on a night when the Sixers didn’t have a lead at all in this one.
The Sixers received 12 points out of Quentin Grimes and nine points out of VJ Edgecombe while MarJon Beauchamp had 16 on the night while Trendon Watford had 12 points and six assists. Justin Edwards added nine points and Andre Drummond had nine and 10 rebounds.
Here are the three biggest takeaways following the loss:
Rebounding struggles
It was going to be a struggle for the Sixers to attack the glass when considering all of the talent sidelined, but it was a big deficit for Philadelphia in this one. The Nuggets were just the bigger team heading into this contest and it showed as they won the rebounding battle 53-42 leading to a lot of second-chance opportunities and it made life miserable for the Sixers. Until they can get their guys back, they will need all five players on the floor to attack the glass and help in this area of the game.
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This was another aspect of the game where the Nuggets just dominated. Denver knocked down six 3s in the first quarter as it built its lead and the Sixers couldn’t answer. Grimes and Edgecombe combined to shoot 1-for-eight from deep and that just can’t happen if Philadelphia wants to be successful with this current iteration on the floor. Rough nights will happen, it’s just a part of the NBA, but the Sixers will need to have much better nights from 3-point range in order to be successful at the moment.
Edgecombe continues to learn
The rookie received a lot of defensive attention in this one and it led to a tough night shooting the ball. While there were some stretches where he had some good looks at it, Edgecombe couldn’t convert and this is another lesson he can take with him as he continues to navigate the NBA for the first time. He is somebody who will benefit from games such as this one due to his basketball IQ and his thirst to want to get better on a daily basis. These moments are good for him.