Philadelphia 76ers 111 vs 116 Denver Nuggets summary: stats and highlights | NBA
The Denver Nuggets continued to display their dominance over the best teams in the league with a narrow win from Ball Arena on Monday night. Nikola Jokic paced the Western Confence leaders with another triple-double in the 116-111 victory.
No Joel or James for Philly
After taking down Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Eastern Conference leading Milwaukee Bucks in their previous game over the weekend, they hosted the Sixers who came in as the three seed in the East. Philadelphia would come to town, but is was a short handed Sixers side that were without MVP candidate Joel Embiid who was ruled out after an early morning workout before the game and James Harden was out with a lingering Achilles injury.
The Nuggets started with a bang, as the Philly offense struggled to find their rhythm without Embiid or Harden. Doc Rivers’ side would score just 18 points in the first quarter as the Nuggets extended the lead to double digits with an early 14-3 run.
Finally Philly found their groove on the offensive end after a dreadful start, thanks to Tyrese Maxey and his 20 point second quarter. The Sixers clawed back into the game after going down by double digits, but never took the lead from the Nuggets after leading 5-4 in the early going.
Another triple-double for Jokic
James Niang cut the lead to four with a three pointer right before the half, but Denver came out of the break guns blazing, while Philly had a stagnant start to the second half. Maxey went cold after his huge second quarter and the visitors scored just four points in the opening seven minutes of the half. In that time the Nuggets went on a 22-4 run to retake command of the game.
It seemed like the home team was going to cruise to victory as Aaron Gordon, Bruce Brown and Christian Braun dazzled the Denver crown with a dizzying array of high flying dunks, and Jokic produced his 29th triple-double of the season with 25, 17 and 12 assists.
Sixers second team fight back in fourth
Doc Rivers even sat Tyrese Maxey and some of his other starters as the lead built up to 20 in the fourth quarter, but the second team brought Philly back to life and almost tied the game back up after a 20-4 run closed the game to three points with 28.2 seconds left.
The Sixers could have had a chance to tie the game up after Jeff Green stepped on the baseline before getting fouled with 13.1 seconds left, but the refs didn’t see it and the play couldn’t be challenged Green hit both FTs to seal the game and send Philly back home on a three game losing streak.
Joker with another triple double in a matchup he was supposed to have with his MVP co-candidate.
Just when Gordon and Brown thought they had the highlights of the night, Christian Braun had something to say about that with this one handed tip slam!
Gordon was a human highlight reel on Monday night, playing above the rim in the Mile High City.
It's no surprise that a team with Jokic as their offensive anchor plays beautiful basketball, but just look how easy they make it look. Jokic had another triple double with 25,17 and 12 assists on the night.
Tyrese Maxey brought the Sixers back in the game with 20 points in the second quarter, but it was too much Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic in the end.
Gordon had a handful of jams by this time in the game, and Bruce Brown didn't want to be left out of the party.
The Nuggets were clicking on the offensive end and the defensive end in the first quarter. They allowed just 18 points in the opening 12 minutes of the game.
It was a game full of highlights for the Nuggets, who got off to a quick start but had trouble closing out the Sixers who were without Joel Embiid and James Harden.
IT'S ALL OVER!!!
Denver survive a scare after a comeback bid from the Philly bench players.
Green's heel was out of bounds when he caught the ball, but that play cannot be reviewed.
Green goes to the line after the unsuccessful challenge, and hits both FTs with 13.1 to go.
Green got fouled, but might have stepped out of bounds before hand. Philly is going to challenge.
Harrell with a tip slam off the Springer miss and it's a one possession game!
Korkmaz with a quick bucket to bring the deficit back to 5 with under a minute to go.
Jokic driving down main street and dumps it off to Green for the baseline slam!
Harrell fouled by Jokic, and he hits one of two FTs. Five point game with 1:23 to go.
Jokic got stripped and Springer hit McDaniels for the easy jam!
Timeout DEN with 1:51 to go in the fourth!
Springer to the line and he hits both FTs. The deficit is 8 with 2:22 to go in the game.
Korkmaz on the reverse after the offensive board from Milton. We are back to a 10 point game with under 3 to play.
Milton to the line after the Murray foul, and he hits both FTs.
Jokic with the finger roll after the up and under in the paint.
Korkmaz fouled by Porter Jr. and he goes to the line hitting both FTs.
Milton running the break, and finds McDaniels on the alley oop lay up.
McDaniels strings a three ball out of the timeout.
Jokic running the break and he opened it up for Porter Jr. for the three ball!
Timeout Philly with 5:13 to go.
Jokic fouled by Harris and he hits one of two FTs.
We are under six minutes to go in the fouth quarter here from Denver.
House finds the loose ball under the basket and he puts up a quick lay up.
Jokic gets the push shot to go in traffic out of the timeout.
House in the corner for three, and that will force Denver to take a timeout with 7:08 still up by 15.
Harris with gets a short range effort to fall, and he's been quiet since that quick start in the first quarter.
Green on the steal and he dished it to Nnaji in transition who cocked it back for a slam.
Braun follows up the tip slam with a three ball in the corner and the Sixers need a timeout with 8:35 to go in the fourth quarter!
Reed with the hook shot in the lane and he remains one of the few scoring for the Sixers in the second half.
BRAUN SKIES FOR THE TIP SLAM OFF THE MISSED BROWN THREE!
Reed gets the entry pass down under the iron, and gets an easy lay up to go.
Murray on the penetration and dump off to Nnaji who finishes with a flush!
Maxey stops on a dime in the lane, turns and hits the fade away in traffic.
Brown fouled in transition by Milton, and he hits both FTs.
House is fouled by Braun, and he goes to the line and splits the two.
Gordon starts the fourth quarter with a floater from the elbow.
We are heading to the final quarter with the Nuggets up big after 22-4 run to start the second half.
Niang getting to the iron with the shot clock winding down and he gets the tough lay up in traffic to go.
McDaniels pull up from the mid range and finally someone other than Reed gets a bucket for Philly.
Jokic on the finger roll in the lane, and he's got another triple double after his last assist on the Brown three ball!
Reed going back to the basket and getting the reverse to go. He's keeping his team in this game in the third quarter.
Brown with a dagger three ball after it looked like the Sixers were getting some momentum.
Reed misses the lay up out of the timeout.
Reed going to the rack on the fast break, gets the bucket off the glass and the foul!!! He's going to the line after the timeout with 2:46 to go in the third quarter.
Reed to the line and he hits both after the foul on Jokic.
Maxey has cooled down since the second quarter but he gets the short range effort to drop.
Porter Jr. drills the three ball after the kick out from KCP
Reed hits the baseline jumper from the right corner.
Finally McDaniels puts the Sixers on the board with a floater in the lane to bring the 22-4 Nugs run to an end.
Jokic heads to the line after the foul on Reed and he hits two of two FTs.
Jokic on the penetration, and he was fouled by Reed. He hits both FTs and the lead is 20.
Gordon off the dribble and he goes soaring to the cup for the slam!
Jokic with back to back buckets underneath and the lead is up to 16.
Jokic had a mismatch down low, got it under the bucket and went up with it quickly.
Murray gets into the lane and gets the fall away floater to go.
Gordon jumps on the loose ball, and this time it's him lobbing it up to Murray for the alley oop!
Timeout Sixers with the lead back to 10 for Denver.
Gordon with another jam after Murray air balled the floater! That's his fourth of the night.
Harris gets the roll from the FT line jumper after the up and under move.
Jokic was fouled at mid court and jacked up a shot, and gets three FTs for his efforts! He gets two of three to go from the line.
Jokic with the lay up off the Murray dish and he's had a slow night from the field, let's see if that gets him going.
Gordon on the tip in off the Murray miss. He's got 8 on the night.
WE ARE BACK IN PLAY FROM DENVER!!
Melton gets us started up with a floater off the glass.
Niang has 10 points off the bench including this three ball to cut the gap to 4 heading into the second half.
How Murray got this to go is still a mystery. He had 11 of his 15 in that second quarter.
Gordon may have had three dunks, but I don't think any were as vicious as Bruce Browns tomahawk jam
There aren't many guys faster than Tyrese Maxey in the open court, and he showed his jets after the bad pass from Jamal Murray. He finished the second quarter 20 points to go into the half with 25.
There wasn't a whole lot to highlight for the Sixers in the first half after scoring just 18 pionts in the first 12 minutes, but Maxey got going in the second and didn't stop.
Here's number two from Gordon, number three would come a little later, but it would be worth the wait.
Aaron Gordon has six points after the first half, and they were all spectacular. More to come, don't you worry.
Maxey leads all scorers after putting up 20 of his 25 points in that second quarter! Harris has another 12 for the Sixers.
Murray's got 15 after finding his stroke from downtown, and Brown has another 11 off the bench.
Niang his a corner three ball in the corner for the last points of the first half!!!
The Sixers are hanging with the Nuggets with no Harden or Embiid so far. We have 24 minutes to go from Denver.
Jokic found Gordon down the baseline and Gordon throws down the reverse alley oop!!!
Maxey with another drive and another lay up off the glass! He's got 20 in the quarter!
Murray gets the the roll after a dash to the rack!
Melton finds the space for a floater in the lane and he gets the friendly roll.
Porter Jr. on the pull up from the elbow and the lead is back to 7.
KCP pulls the trigger off the dribble from the FT line.
Maxey slicing down the lane and he's got 18 points in the quarter!
Harris was fouled by KCP on the floater, and he goes to the line and drops both.
Maxey to the line after the foul on Gordon, and he hits one of two. He's got 16 in the quarter!
Kick out from Jokic to Brown in the corner and he drills it to stretch the lead to 8!
Brown finishes the reverse lay up after hearing the whistle on Niang. FT is good to complete the three point play.
Maxey with a step back long ball and he has ignited in this second quarter!
Tucker trying to defend Jokic, and all he could do was send him to the line. Jokic goes to the line and hits both.
Brown to the line after the Harris foul, and he hits both FTs.
Maxey going right at Jokic and got him with the scoop lay up off the crystal.
Harris working on the block and gets the fade away to fall.
Jokic finds Brown under the rack for a HUGE cockback jam down the lane!
Maxey jumping on the bad pass from Murray and he goes coast to coast for the lay up on the break, and gets the foul! FT is good!
Melton puts it on the deck, absorbs the contact and gets the bucket to go, AND 1! FT is good.
Murray again from downtown!!! That's three in a row from Murray!
Maxey goes to the rack with a strong drive and a soft finish out of the timeout!
Murray goes back to back from downtown and just like that, the Nuggets lead is back to 8 points!
Sixers need a timeout with under 8 to go in the half!
Reed hitting the offensive glass hard, and getting the put back to go for the Sixers.
Braun off the bench and on to the scoreboard with a corner three ball!
Maxey answers back with a step back three ball to take some of the momentum out of the building.
Green comes flying threw for a huge jam that gets this Ball Arena off their seats!
Nnaji on the alley oop after Brown lobbed it up for him!
McDaniels was in the right place at the right time after House Jr.'s air balled three, and get got the put back AND 1! FT is good!
House with a race to the rack on the break and he gets the points after a goaltending against the Nugs.
Maxey on the scoop lay up from the left side to start the second quarter.
We are headed to the second quarter, after the Nuggest broke out to a big lead after a 14-3 run. With no Embiid or Harden points have been tough to come back for Philly.
Jokic has 4, 7 and 4 assists after one quater, while Porter Jr. leads the Nugs in scoring with 7.
Harris had a quick 8, but no other Sixers came out of the gate hot from the field.
Maxey gets the roll after finding a lane in the paint to put up the floater.
Brown going to the line after Niang picks up his second, and he hits of of two FTs.
Reed following the Milton miss with a tip in and the Sixers are trying to make a little run before the end of the quartet.
Maxey heads to the line after Nnaji picks up his first foul and he splits the two at the line.
Green got fouled by Niang, and get goes to the line hitting both FTs.
Porter Jr. was left all alone under the basket after the Gordon offensive rebound and he found his for the wide open jam!
Timeout Sixers with 3:19 to go in the first quarter!
Niang off the bench and on the board with a much needed three ball in the corner!
KCP drills the three ball off another Jokic assist and the Nugs are on a 14-3 run!
Porter Jr. strings the deep three ball from the top of the key off the Jokic kick out
Murray into Jokic on the entry pass and he goes up quick for the easy bucket.
Murray off the inbound getting to the bucket and getting the lay up to go.
Maxey got his own rebound off the miss, and looked for Harris for the three ball! He's got 8 points already!
Gordon trailing the play in transition, and Murray led him right to the rim for the fast break slam!
Sixers need an early timeout just a few minutes into this game.
Murray gets into the lane and flips up a scoop shot off the glass.
Maxey got the defensive rebound and turned on the jets for the coast to coast lay up
Porter Jr. walks into a deep two in transition and this game is off to a flying pace!
Gordon busting through the defense and gets to the iron for the uncontested dunk.
Harris taking Gordon off the dribble and he gets the floater to drop from the right side for 5 quick points.
Jokic in the lane and he gets the turn around fader to drop for his first points of the night.
Harris gets the night going with a deep ball, and that's the start the Sixers were looking for!
WE ARE UNDERWAY FROM THE MILE HIGH CITY! CAN PHILLY SURPRISE THE NUGS WITH NO JOEL OR JAMES?
There is a lot of talk about who the best team in the West is going into the playoffs, but the Nuggets have shown that this is the starting five to beat. We knew once this team got healthy and Jokic had an arsenal of weapons at his aid this team was going to be awfully dangerous.
With no Joel Embiid or James Harden who is dealing with an Achilles injury, this is the starting five that Doc Rivers will go with. Will it be enough to knock off the top seed in the West?
Embiid out for precautionary reasons
It’s not often we get to see two MVP candidates square off in a late season battle that could determine who wins the award, and unfortunately it won’t happen tonight either. Joel Embiid has been ruled out of tonight’s game with a calf injury. Embiid played in the game in Phoenix over the weekend but couldn’t make it through his workout this morning and the Sixers are going to keep him out for precautionary reasons.
NBA Standings
Having a look at the standings in the West we see the Denver Nuggets hanging on to their lead which they have had essentially all season. Their four game losing skid was a scare, but they since look like they have smoothed the waters. They still lead the Grizzlies by three games, and the Kings are sitting five games back from them so barring a catastrophe at the end of the season the Nuggets should be sitting pretty come playoff time. The Sixers have fallen four games back of the Milwaukee Bucks, and are sitting in third, 2.5 games behind the Celtics. Their chances of homecourt advantage is almost a certainty, but they will keep a distance from the Cavs who are just two games back of Philly.
There will be no MVP matchup
I’m sure there is a part of Nikola Jokic who is disappointed to see his counterpart sidelined tonight. The two time MVP will surely be more concerned with his team winning, and keeping their cushion over the rest of the Western Conference, but the opportunity to go head to head against the other MVP candidate this season doesn’t come that often since these two teams play in difference conferences.
Shorthanded Sixers in the Mile High City
With no Joel Embiid tonight, the Sixers know a tall task just got even taller tonight in the Mile High City. Tyrese Maxey stepped up in the desert last game, but his 14/19 performance from the field wasn’t enough to lead the Sixers over the Suns. There will be plenty of shots to go around with Embiid on the bench, so look for Tyrese to test the Nuggets tonight at Ball Arena.
Sixers last game
It doesn’t get much tougher of a road trip then the one the Sixers are in the midst of. They started with a win over the Bulls in Chicago, but then had to go to Golden State who are almost unbeatable at home and then went south to Phoenix. They met a Suns team that was desperate for a win to keep hold of their fourth seed in the West, and of course it was Devin Booker who stepped up against the Sixers. Kevin Durant was sidelined for the ninth straight game, so Booker took it upon himself to carry the Suns with 29 points and getting some help from the bench who scored 53 points. That nullified Tyrese Maxey’s 37 points, which helped the Sixers stay in the game for the first three quarters of the game, but Booker took over in the fourth quarter and led the Suns to the 20 point win.
Nuggets last game
It was a heavyweight battle between the two top teams in their respective conferences as the Nuggets returned home from a five game road swing only to face up against the Milwaukee Bucks. Nikola Jokic got the best of Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks in a game that was in the balance until the middle of the third quarter. Milwaukee lead with 7 minutes left in the third, but the Nugs got hot in a hurry and were up by 20 with seven minutes to go in the fourth. The Bucks shot just 25% of their threes while Jokic posted 31, 6 and 11 assists in the 23 point win.
We are live from Ball Arena
Hello everyone and welcome to Denver where fans, journalists and followers of our live coverage of tonight’s game will be awfully disappointed to hear the news that Joel Embiid has been ruled out for tonight’s game. The Sixers are in the midst of a four game road trip that hasn’t gone quite to plan. They have lost two straight and three of their last four, and now travel to the Western Conference leaders house without their MVP candidate. The Nuggets haven’t looked like the same team they were before the All-Star break, and have gone 5-5 in their last 10 games including four straight, but have rattled off a few wins in a row including the leaders of the Eastern conference last game.
Sixers vs. Nuggets
Two of the top teams in the NBA go toe-to-to in Denver as the Nuggets get set to host the Philadelphia 76ers in a potential Finals preview from Ball Arena. Denver are the leaders in the Western Conference, while the Sixers are eyeing the top spot in the East. It’s a pivotal battle for both teams and AS English will be with you all night providing live coverage, stats, highlights and analysis of tonight’s primetime Mile High matchup.