Well, that was a whole lotta hullabaloo for nothing.
The Denver Nuggets won Saturday’s matinee matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers 111-105, and yet the story of the game was less about the result and more about the circumstance.
10 minutes before the Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers were set to tip off, it was announced by Adrian Wojanorwski of ESPN that Sixers MVP center Joel Embiid would sit out Saturday’s matinee matchup. Embiid was NOT on the injury report prior to today’s game, but according to Woj, the big man was feeling discomfort in his knee, and the Sixers medical staff made the decision to pull him from the game.
Embiid is out with left knee soreness, source says. Sixers training staff had concerns while watching Embiid during his warm-up routine and made decision for him to sit out vs. Denver today, sources said. Sixers are without Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris. https://t.co/tWBqfQ6RPw
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 27, 2024
It was an unfortunate letdown for the Nuggets as they had to face a Sixers team without Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, or Tobias Harris, the latter two being ruled out earlier in the day. The Nuggets struggled to get up for the Sixers in the first half, an understandable letdown effect, but a letdown nonetheless.
The Nuggets only led by two at halftime despite the Sixers missing roughly 80 points per game of scoring. Paul Reed and Kelly Oubre Jr. in particular were dominant, with Reed finishing the game with 30 points and Oubre finishing with 25. Reed played 42 minutes and was splashing mid-range jumpers and three-pointers throughout the evening, grabbed some rebounds, and even played some solid defense on Jokic and others.
“Give them credit…those guys played outstanding,” Malone said of the Sixers in place of their stars. “We’re lucky to come out of here with a win today, let’s be honest.”
Jamal Murray scored 20 points in the first half and shot 6-of-10 from three on the game. The Sixers changed up their defensive schemes on him though and played some Box-and-1 to prevent him from getting open jumpers. Murray only scored three points in the second half, and the Nuggets as a team scored just 47, slowly down greatly against Philly’s physical defensive pressure. Murray finished with 23 points due to the coverage, scoring just three second half points.
“It’s tough being face guarded for 94 feet,” Murray shared postgame, slightly exasperated. “I just try to work my way around it. I think i can do a better job of finding a way to get open or using myself as a decoy without taking myself out of the game.”
Denver ultimately figured it out in the fourth quarter, though it took a long time to get defense into the game. Philadelphia scored 88 points through the first three quarters but only managed 17 in the fourth quarter. The Nuggets were more physical and contested more shots in the quarter, and the Sixers role players also obliged by regressing to the mean on shots at the rim and shots from three. Jokic was very intentional on getting to the paint and drawing contact, shooting 16 free throws. Jokic did miss six free throws today, but he collected one of those for an offensive rebound and got two points out of it instead. Jokic finished with 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists, and two steals.
#Nuggets fans chant “Where’s Embiid at?” as Nikola Jokic puts Denver up 6 on the FT line with 33 seconds remaining
Joel Embiid hasn’t played in Denver since 2019. pic.twitter.com/OajrJ5GTH1
— Joel Rush (@JoelRushNBA) January 28, 2024
Peyton Watson came off the bench and gave Denver a defensive boost in the second half with nine points, three rebounds, three assists, and two stocks. Watson was aggressive all game and battled against the Sixers veterans well.
“I thought he was really good tonight, and he impacted the game,” Malone shared of Peyton Watson’s performance. “We all want to say that you want to put somebody in this one hole, like, ‘he’s a defender,’ and I think what Peyton’s showing is that he can help this team on both ends of the floor, and I love when he plays downhill, puts pressure on the basket to score or find a teammate.”
“Just watching his development through a little over half the season, I’m pretty impressed with how far [Peyton’s] come from last year to this point.”
Ultimately, this game was a major disappointment on several fronts. Nuggets fans hoped Nikola Jokic would get to earn some revenge against Joel Embiid as part of Rivals Week, and that didn’t come to pass.
Embiid has come out to the Sixers bench for this close finish to a chorus of boos from these Denver fans… pic.twitter.com/tKhHXSfjMU
— Cassidy Hubbarth (@CassidyHubbarth) January 28, 2024
Nikola Jokic, to his credit, took the high road within the discussion on Joel Embiid missing tonight and continued to laud Embiid for his amazing performance this season.
“Even if you’re a basketball, soccer, or horse racing fan, Denver Nuggets fan, Philadelphia fan, whatever it is, I think you need to respect what he’s doing,” Jokic shared about Embiid. “He’s putting together history right in front of our eyes, and he’s making it look so easy.”
The Nuggets were ready for this matchup, only for it to turn into a farce of a game within three hours. It’s tough, within the NBA’s stated Rivals Week, for a game like tonight o be the outcome. Ultimately though, the Nuggets will take the win, because they have to move on to the Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has played in Denver every single season of his NBA career outside of two days before the NBA shutdown due to Covid.
Maybe the Nuggets will get their MVP battle on Monday instead.
Final Rotations
