On January 22nd, Beijing time, in an NBA regular season game, the Philadelphia 76ers suffered their seventh consecutive loss at the hands of the Denver Nuggets. The 76ers were suppressed by the Nuggets from the start of the game, with the score difference widening to over 20 points by the end of the third quarter, and the fourth quarter quickly turned into garbage time. Without Embiid, they have lost 8 out of 9 games.
Currently, the Philadelphia 76ers have five players on the injury list: Martin, Lowry, Embiid, Little Martin, and McCain. Embiid's injury report on January 17th showed that he needed another 7-10 days of rest, and his swollen knee would be re-examined after 7-10 days.
Due to this away game, Embiid continued to miss playing against the Nuggets. His last appearance in Denver was back in 2019, nearly 2000 days without playing a game at the Nuggets' home court. The last time Embiid played here, Harden was still with the Rockets.
However, in Embiid's last three games against the Nuggets, he averaged 40.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. Philadelphia fans defended him, believing that it was unnecessary for Nuggets fans to mock Embiid.
Despite this, Nuggets fans printed missing person flyers to mock the Emperor.
Without Embiid, the 76ers were already trailing by 10 points at halftime. Jokic easily scored 18 points with 6 out of 9 shots, adding 5 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals. It felt like Jokic hadn't even broken a sweat. Porter Jr. had 11 points, Braun had 12 points, and Strus had 14 points. On the 76ers side, Maxey had already scored 19 points and 7 assists, doing his best, while George had 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists, and Yabusele had 12 points and 2 rebounds.
In the third quarter, Jokic completed another triple-double, his fourth in a row, with 27 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists in three quarters. Porter Jr. had 19 points and 6 rebounds, Braun had 20 points, Westbrook had 11 points, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds, Gordon had 19 points, and Strus had 14 points. Because the score difference was too large after three quarters, the Nuggets did not continue to play their starters in the fourth quarter.
After Embiid's injury suspension on January 5th, the 76ers suffered a streak of seven consecutive losses and eight losses in nine games. They are now three wins behind the tenth-placed Bulls in the East, and the playoffs are gradually slipping away.
Written by Yan Xiaobai: Observations from Philadelphia