Sixers cruise past Grizzlies, giving starters a break in first half of back-to-back

Back to the comfortable territory of Joel Embiid being able to take off the entire fourth quarter.

The Sixers cruised to a 116-96 victory over a depleted Memphis Grizzlies squad as Philly’s entire starting five was able to sit for the fourth.

Embiid led all scorers with 30 points, shooting 9-of-13 from the field while pulling down 12 rebounds in 22 minutes of action.

Kelly Oubre Jr. went for 17 points, five boards, and five assists. Jeff Dowtin Jr., who only played in garbage time, was Philly’s third highest scorer, going for 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting.

Tobias Harris missed his second straight game due to a left knee contusion.

With tonight’s win, the Sixers are now half a game behind the Miami Heat for the seventh seed, and one game behind the Indiana Pacers for the sixth seed.

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.

First Quarter

• It was another hot start for the Sixers’ offense, who made five of their first six shots to start the game. Kelly Oubre Jr., who’s been a second half hero this week, went for seven points in the opening quarter along with a block and a steal.

• The Sixers did look like they were ready to put it in cruise control as soon as they got out to a lead. After the hot start they went without a field goal for almost four minutes. They weren’t very sharp defensively either, and the Grizzlies shot 53% on two-pointers in the first.
• Buddy Hield got a field goal to fall, which already put him off to a better start than Thursday’s contest against the Heat. It looked like he was hoisting up threes quicker, but was still 1-of-3 from deep in the opening quarter. The Sixers held a five-point lead after one.

Second Quarter

• Last season, a Sixers-Mavericks game in Dallas was delayed because one of the baskets was broken. This game was delayed due to multiple floor tiles on the court coming apart. Despite Hield’s efforts, it took quite some time to get the game back up and running again.

• Once the action resumed, the beginning of the quarter started well for the Sixers, largely thanks to Embiid. He had a monstrous block on Trey Jamison, then went on to have a 15-point quarter.

• For the second straight game, it felt like the Sixers were generating a lot of open threes, but they finally got some to fall. Philly shot 42% from deep in the half, compared to just 16.7% for the Grizzlies.
• Nick Nurse opted to close the half with a twin towers lineup as Embiid shared the court with Paul Reed. It appeared to work, as Embiid scored on the next three possessions down the floor. The Sixers cruised to an 20-point lead at the half after a much more comfortable second.

Third Quarter

• Even when the Sixers were cruising, this was a very sloppy game from both sides. On their first possession of the second half, Embiid turned the ball over the eighth time of the game, tying his season-high.
• The messy nature of the game did make for plenty of transition opportunities. The Sixers were able to capitalize on them more often than not. Through three quarters, they had a 17-4 advantage in fast-break points.

• This sequence sums up the KJ Martin experience pretty well: after missing a wide-open alley-oop, he got all the way back in transition to block the dunk attempt and cause a jump ball on the other end. Martin had two blocks and two steals to go along with eight points last the Sixers led by 16 after the third.

Fourth Quarter

• Tonight was just about the perfect night to stretch out the rotation a bit. Fresh off signing a standard NBA contract, Jeff Dowtin Jr. checked into the game late in the third, and Ricky Council IV joined him to start the fourth. They both knocked down their first shots of the game, including another quick three off the catch from Council.

• With it being the first leg of a back-to-back, it was important for the Sixers to put this one away early so they could take it easy. They did a good job of taking care of business, none of the starting lineup touched the floor in the fourth quarter. Tyrese Maxey only took six shots all night, they just didn’t need anymore.
• The Sixers will wrap up this back-to-back with their final road game of the regular season tomorrow. They’ll take on the San Antonio Spurs at 7 p.m. ET.