Tyrese Maxey, Shorthanded 76ers Fall Short vs. Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets squeeze out a win over Tyrese Maxey and the 76ers.

Many might’ve expected the Philadelphia 76ers to have a fully healthy roster for their Monday night matchup against the Denver Nuggets. 

For a moment, it seemed Monday’s game would feature the battle of MVP candidates Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic while also being the return of James Harden, who has missed the Sixers’ previous three games.

Following Philly’s morning shootaround, the Sixers ruled Embiid out for the matchup, taking away one of the key factors of the matchup. Although Harden was reportedly on track to make his return, the star guard was ruled out roughly 30 minutes before the game tipped off.

Suddenly, the Sixers had to rely on the third-year guard Tyrese Maxey to run the show. Through his first nine minutes on the floor, Maxey took five shots, converting on two of his attempts. He scored five points in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, Tobias Harris led the Sixers with eight points, drilling both of his attempts from three. While Harris and Maxey kept the Sixers afloat, the Nuggets held a 25-18 lead over the Sixers through the first quarter.

In a rather low-scoring duel in the first quarter, the Sixers and the Nuggets would turn their offensive performances up a notch before halftime. Maxey was highly productive, making eight of his 11 shots from the field and going 2-3 from the charity stripe. He scored 20 of the Sixers’ 39 second-quarter points. 

While the Sixers outscored the Nuggets in the second quarter, they trailed 61-57 through the first half of action. At that point in the game, the shorthanded Sixers had done a solid job of answering each of Denver’s buckets and preventing the reigning MVP, Nikola Jokic, from going off.

Coming out in the second half, the Nuggets found some separation. Although Jokic started the game off with just six points on the offensive end through the first two quarters, the star center produced 14 points in 11 minutes during the third quarter.

While the Sixers got a decent scoring punch from the backup center Paul Reed, as he produced eight points in five minutes, the Sixers went down by as many as 22 points in the third quarter. It seemed the healthier team had the tools to put the undermanned visitors away with ease as the fourth quarter approached, but the Sixers’ bench unit stunned Denver. 

Despite keeping key contributors such as Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., and Jokic on the floor for the final minutes of the fourth quarter, the Sixers’ deep bench unit put together an impressive run. Draining 60 percent of their fourth-quarter shots and forcing five Denver turnovers, the Sixers outscored the Nuggets by nine points in the final 12 minutes.

While the Sixers got the game within one possession with less than 30 seconds left, Denver escaped the matchup with a victory. In the end, the Sixers took on a 116-111 loss. With that defeat, the Sixers dropped their third-straight game as they head back home after a four-game road trip.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.