76ers InsidersRadio Rewind 60/82: Sixers vs. Portland Trail Blazers Rematch Recap
Hear Nick Nurse's postgame press conference (8:10) and the game recap, as the 76ers hosted the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday. Plus stats, analysis, and audio highlights with Tom McGinnis and Matt Murphy.
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Seventy six Ers postgame show presented by Parts Casino. Following a one to nineteen one h two Blazers win here in Philadelphia, Matt Murphy with you. We'll hear from Tom McGuinness and Nick Nurse. The Sixers cannot make it two in a row after beating Golden State here on Saturday night. Led by Quinton Grimes, is forty four in that one tonight. It's thirty four for Anferny Seigman of the Trailblazers to get to twenty eight and thirty four on the season, but their record's a bit deceiving. They're playing their best basketball this season, basically at having won four in a row before losing to the best team in the East, best team in the NBA, the Cleveland Cavaliers in overtime yesterday on the road. Cleveland is fifty to ten, so outside of that loss, they've now won five of six on a road trip two This was their fifth game on a seven game road trip. They win the second of the back to back. The Sixers will go to Minnesota tomorrow night to complete their back to back before Boston on Thursday. Sixers are twenty one and thirty nine now game sixty of the eighty two game season. Tonight, Andre Drummond was the leading rebounder with eighteen to go with twenty five points. Quinton Grimes had a game high nine assist a career high with his fourteen points, but again forty four on Saturday. For Grimes, his backcourt mate Tyrese Maxey left the game in the third quarter and did not return early in the third before the midway point on a reverse layup back contusion was ruled out for the game, joining a lengthy injury list that tonight included Kelly Oubre Junior and Paul George in addition to the others headlined by embiid So, another new Sixers lineup. They did get off to a good start in the game, which helped them keep the halftime lead of sixty one fifty six, but the Blazers stormed out of the locker room on a fourteen to three run. When the Sixers cut into one in the third quarter, late Portland went on another run. They closed the third on an eleven to two run for a ninety ninety one eighty one lead heading to the fourth quarter, and they win the game one nineteen one two thirty five twenty was the margin in the third quarter, Tom what was the difference in the third and aggressive Anthony Signmans and he shot the ball, well, yeah he did.
And you could just tell like he got moving and grooving with that dribble, and boy, he just he could he felt it right like he was shooting, he was driving. He ended up with six threes, and they just they got the momentum and then you know, of all their athletes like cling, Clinging would not be one of them, right. He's a big, lumbering, seven foot two center, young, twenty one year old, big man, obviously big, big record of success in the NCAA ranks with the two championships at Connecticut, and you know, you can tell he's gonna be a good player. He was stopping things at the one end and then going down there and scoring at close range at the other end. And then they got you know, consistent play from Kamara and sharp Danny Aviata I think maybe had a little bit of a slow start, but he certainly came on. So they got the momentum shifted in their favor and then just kind of took over the game and the Sixers didn't have enough scoring certainly when Max he went out and you know, almost like a battle of attrition for the Sixers with how many different guys are going out.
Klingon had fresher legs than most because he fouled out of yesterday's game. Yes he did in Cleveland, so he plays a lot more tonight. Almost twenty nine minutes, thirteen points and three thirteen points and thirteen rebounds. We'll go to Minnesota to play the Timberwolves. We'll get to that. But just that Maxi injury exit and then Edward's even late, it's kind of like what more can go wrong for the Sixers in that department this season? But with Maxi, kind of describe his night because first half we were talking about his finger tape, and then the second half we were talking about the fall on the reverse.
Well, it looked like Maxi was going to try to shoot it and just kind of play through regardless. He ended up taking thirteen shots, many of which came in the early going. I believe he had eleven shots in the first half, two for eleven in the first quarter, one for seven from three in the first quarter alone. Right, I think one of his shots was way off, but most of these shots have been like right there, it's just like I said, it shows sha how when you're not one hundred percent, the slightest little thing can can make it difficult. And you know the drive, so therefore when you're not, when you're outside shoot the shot is not working, then you drive it. And that's what that drive was. But like he went into the air and it looked like the right hip and you know of Maxie hit Klingon who's so much bigger, and then the landing is difficult too, So that's a tough blow for MAXI. Uh, he's taken a lot of hits of course throughout the course of the season. And yeah, so and then Edward sprains his ankle, So tough night at the office injury wise for the Sixers.
Matt Murphy and Tom McGuinness here on the seventy six Ers postgame show, which is presented by Parks Casino, as we await coach Nick Nurse, And the thing I kept wondering is that the pinky is at the ring finger. He had them taped together and was it's the pink reportedly right practicing three three finger like release on his on his jump shot, so obviously something that was bothering him. But then it's the back contusion that sent him out of the game in the mid early to mid third quarter Minnesota tomorrow we'll touch on that after coach nurse.
Yeah, he had a uh lower back contusion. I had a couple of doctors check him out at this point. Nothing too serious.
Uh.
They did say that could change in the morning, but hopefully not. He is going to travel and they're gonna as of now, as of now listed day to day. Yep, spain the same ankle he just uh sprained a couple of weeks ago or a month ago whenever. That was again not not as not as bad. By the end of the evaluation he was he was walking on it, so hopefully it won't be too bad. But it is the same one that he heard before. Ye and Kelly is was out for illness. They are planning on He is planning on traveling as well, and Paul is also traveling. So all four of those guys are day to day. I would have I would imagine they want to all hit the floor tomorrow, but hopefully love them.
Well, what did you just make a laundry at the night?
Yeah, he had obviously his best scoring game of the year, best rebounding game, you know, combination, you know, he did he did a good job. We got him, We got him going early and he and he kind of continued it the whole way through. Obviously it was it was a big help on the glass. We obviously gave up a lot of offensive rebounds. It was tough out there. They they again I mentioned it before the game, they just kind of keep coming with big athletic wings, and those wings get to the glass and and we had we had a difficult time keeping them off there. I thought we played excellent in the first half. We didn't didn't come out to start the second. I think it was a fourteen to three start for them in the second and and Simon's kind of hit two threes in that run. Somebody else hit one. I think it was sharp in that run as well. So three threes right out of the gate kind of took took a little juice out of us. And then and then we just couldn't quite get it back and they they really kind of raced it at us on our misses on offense, and our transition defense wasn't quite good enough in our defensive rebounding was kind of the story of the game, you.
See Tyre's fall and is back and justin reinjury his ankle. In this season, with all these injuries, what goes through your mind when you keep seeing more injuries.
Yeah, I mean I think that, you know, I'm just always been really hopeful that things will balance out, that at some point the injury bug will leave us or injury cloud will leave us, and it just just doesn't seem to right. And it's it's again, it's disappointing always first and foremost for the players. But it's obviously it's been a lot and not easy to deal with. But you know, it's like I told the guys that they played some really good basketball times tonight, gotta we gotta shake it off and get out of here as quick as we can get there and rest up tomorrow and get ready to try to figure out how to get out there and play again tomorrow. Recently, yeah, I just kind of thought we were down to ten guys, including including a couple of two ways, and I just figured, man, let's get everybody over there onto the floor and and and get him in there. And uh just kind of wanted to give everybody a shot in the first half and see what happens, and and uh that was pretty much the thought behind that comfortable. Yeah, I mean again to some bright spots. He's certainly looking like uh, you know, like Lonnie Walker, remember you know, I mean, you know, finding his finding his feet a little bit. Uh. He hit, he hit a couple of shots off of some draw ups, which is great. Or he got fouled on a couple of those threes as well, which would have been would have been awesome. But again, just just looking a little bit more like a score that we know he is obviously drums a big positive as well tonight. So you know, get a couple of those guys continuing to to to play like they're capable and finding their way here. A little bit can help us. So we get some guys back this season.
You think it's just a knack of knocking off that ross season.
Or yeah, a little bit. I think I think I always again, I I I remember I talked about this with the album. I always worry about those guys coming from Europe, just for a minute, because of the three point line. I know it's only a little bit, but it makes a difference when you're you know, just I think that's maybe the case with Loney kind of short on most of his threes now, but again he'll he'll get used to back to the rhythm of that, you know. So I'm again, I think he's a pretty explosive score and then let's you know again, I just want to get him involved. I thought he worked really hard on d tonight on his guy. I gotta watch the tape to see how he was off the ball. And again he's gonna have to I know he's not that big, but he is athletic. He's gonna have to help us on the on the glass a little bit defensively. Yep, I know that.
Nick Nurse seventy six Ers Parks Casino postgame show after a one nineteen one oh two loss at home to the Portland Trailblazers, Matt Murphy and Tom McGinnis back with you, Lonnie Walker the fourth was touched on there at the end, thirteen points off the bench in twenty eight minutes for him for the Sixers. The rebounding battle totals margin was touched on by coach sixty one forty three Portland. In this game, they had sixty eight points in the paint compared to fifty two and now Tom the Sixers. Good news that everybody's going to travel to Minnesota, but it's bad that you had to add guys to that list coming out of this one, including Maxi with the back contusion. It's a difficult travel situation. And we know about Anthony Edwards with Minnesota. He had a forty four point game yesterday against Phoenix. But how about Dante DiVincenzo being part of Minnesota now too from the Karl Anthony Towns trade coming from the Knicks, because he had an amazing game with five steals and twenty four points, the first player in NBA history with seven plus threes and five steals off the bench in a game. How about the Timberwolves.
That's great, but overall you'd have to say they I mean, they've probably had a little bit of a disappointing underachieving. Yeah.
So they are eighth in the West at thirty three and twenty nine.
Right, and they were you know, people thought they were right on the cusp of being in the mix competing for the Western Conference championship. So that's just it, you never know, And great for Dante, I know he's been in and out of the lineup a little bit with injury, but you know, nas Reid is obviously a very good player for them. It'd be a difficult game for them. They're coming back off of West Coaster, but that's not a shocker for them, and that they they're in the West, right, So a little bit of you know, the Sixers, you travel, you get, you gain an hour going out there, and believe it or not, Minneapolis is not that far of a flight maybe buck forty or buck fifty to go in terms of an hour fifty minutes. But yeah, tough for the Sixers with the injuries and coming off the loss. But life in the NBA, and this is a brutal month too, right, Like I said, like this will be the first of ten straight or not ten straight, but ten road games for the Sixers, followed by the Boston game and then Atlanta and Toronto the following week, and then a six game road trip over a span of ten days in the middle to the latter part of the month. And that's where you need depth and injuries have to kind of you would hope obviously you have as much health as possible. And interesting the coach was talking about that bug, the cloud if you will, that hangs over. It's certainly been here during this twenty four to twenty five season for the Sixers.
Depth of conference, like caliber of teams kind of has favored the West as well, so that it would go Minnesota's way against the Sixers, who will look to bounce back from this loss against Portland's night at home tomorrow night time.
Last thing, and it just kind of we touched on it early, but it just shows you it's a long season, just like these games are long and forty minutes, and you know, like it's how these two teams fared. At the end of December, Sixers looked like they were on the rise, big month for them, and now here's Portland turning things around a little bit, I think, not just for their season, but you know, like they may have turned the corner like in the Chauncey billups run if you will, And it just shows you how quickly things can change in the span of sixty to nineties.
They stayed pat at the trade deadline. I know they have a lot of younger players anyway, but they didn't get rid of as Simons or anyone, and they they roll on and it's it's benefited them so far, all right, all right, Tom, thank you. One nineteen one oh two Trailblazers win in Philadelphia. Still have a couple postgame segments coming, including the audio highlights, and we'll break down the shooting totals and the box score and give a stat of the game that is coming up next on the seventy six Ers Post Game Show presented by Parks Casino in Philadelphia, The Parks Casino Postgame Show after a one nineteen one oh two loss for the Sixers to the Portland Trailblazers front end of a back to back that will bring them to Minnesota tomorrow night to visit the Timberwolves at eight pm Easter and we'll talk more about that. We'll have the audio highlights coming up in the next segment as well, and the stats right now. But before that, a reminder that it's bricking for Chicken time courtesy of Chick fil A. Make sure to download and opened the Chick fil A app by ten thirty am tomorrow to claim your free five count Chick fil A Nuggets courtesy of consecutive miss free throws from Chris Murray in the second half of tonight's game. You can redeem the reward by scanning the Chick fil A app or by placing a mobile order within three days of the game. Thanks to Chick fil A and to Chris Murray, but he gets the last laugh with the win. Blazers are twenty eight and thirty four six ers or twenty one and thirty nine. They outrebounded the Sixers as mentioned, sixty one forty three. Klingon led them in boards with thirteen. Drummond, even though the team got out rebounded, had a game high eighteen points or eighteen rebounds with his twenty five points, sixteen and eleven in the first half alone, so that could have been in consideration Drummond's rebounds for our stat of the game because that's a new season high eighteen boards for him end points twenty five. It was fourteen points and seventeen rebounds, but he go th passed both. There was good balance on the glass for Portland. But the stat of the game will be the three point percentage being the exact same, the totals being the exact same for both teams, so that's why it came down to points in the paint. They were both eleven for thirty five from three thirty one point four percent but points in the paint favored the Blazers sixty eight fifty two. They got thirty four points from Anferny Simons, their point guard. He did have some success, a lot of success from three, Unlike most players in this game, he was six for eleven from three. They shot forty eight point five percent from the field, the Blazers only sixty three percent from the line, but the Sixer shot only forty three percent, so five plus percentage points less than the Blazers forty three percent from the floor, that thirty one from deep, and sixty nine point two percent from the free throw line. They only took thirteen free throws to Portland only taking nineteen but six fewer, and they lose one nineteen one oh two. Audio highlights with Tom mcguinness's calls are coming up next again the Blazers one nineteen the six Ers one oh two. Tyrese Maxey left this game at the six forty two mark of the third quarter after falling on a reverse layup. It was ruled he was ruled out with a back contusion. Justin Edwards resprained his ankle. According to Nick Nurse, the left ankle at the very end of this game, Paul George and Kelly Ubray Junior did not play, in addition to Joel m Beat, Eric Gordon, Jared McCain, and Kyle Lowry. For Ubra, it's an illness. For Paul George, it's groin soreness, but Ubray, George Edwards, and Maxie are expected to travel with the team to Minnesota. Highlights on the other side after Sixers Blazers will cover this game from start to finish when we return on the seventy six Ers Postgame Show presented by Parks Casino. Seventy six Ers Parks Casino Postgame Show continues on tonight hosting the Portland Trailblazers, with the Blazers coming in from Cleveland, where they lost in overtime yesterday afternoon into the evening. Sixers playing the front end of a back to back with that Minnesota game on the road looming tomorrow night. Portland had won four straight before the overtime loss to the fifty win Cavaliers. Joel Embiid, of course out for the season, the news coming on Friday this past Friday, with the left knee injury listed on the report. Left knee injury Management, joining Eric Gordon, Jared McCain, Kyle Lowry and tonight Kelly Oubray Junior with an illness Paul George with groin soreness. As we set up the starting lineup for the highlights here, here's how this game sounded, as called by Tom McGuinness Sixers Blazers in Philadelphia. The Sixers used their thirty seventh different starting lineup of the season, the most in the NBA. Tonight was Game sixty Tyrese Maxi, Quinton Grimes, Justin Edwards, kershon Yabusele, and Andre Drummond Sixers in their white spectrum themed uniforms on a Spirit of seventy six night presented by Crypto dot Com. It's the tenth one of those this season. The Blazers were in red and the Sixers started the game up twenty nine and Maxi was aggressive shooting the ball as you might expect, especially without Embiid and Paul George and Ubre, who was averaging sixteen plus points over the last ten games. He took eleven shots in the first quarter, but went only two for eleven and one for seven from three. He did have five assists in the first quarter with his five points and late to break the tie. It was a nice connection from the Sixers that ended up in the hands of the rookie big man backing up Andre Drummon Tonight, A dem Bona first.
Quarter winding down, MAXI up top Bonnie Walker by one man into the lane, bounces a demn Bona goes up. He's hammered man. He puts it in down low right. I thought for sure Walker would shoot it. There was about two or three seconds to go. He got by Simon's off the bount thought he was gonna lift up and get a hierarchy shut.
Thirty one twenty nine became thirty two to twenty nine six Ers heading into the second quarter. Bona only logged seven minutes and ten seconds of playing time on the night, but he did make two of his three shots from the field, in two of his three free throws, six points and two rebounds, backing up Drummond, who had a big night and were about to hear a very unique play from Andre Drummond here in the second quarter, in which the Sixers had a seven zero run. It was truly pro basketball game of runs. Tonight in Philadelphia, Sixers had a seven nothing scoring run early in the second quarter that forced a Portland timeout at forty four to thirty five. Quinton Grimes was part of that, coming off the forty four point career high night against Golden State Saturday, and so was Andre Drummond. A little later in the second quarter. He's straight away on the right basket, but he's beyond the arc, which over Andre Drummond's illustrious career he has not been known for. It's his thirteenth year in the NBA and sure enough launches a three.
Here's drumming with a long one in.
It's good.
He buried at three. Andre Drummond puts it in and the Sixers lead fifty two.
Forty four, his second three of the season. He has attempted double digits from beyond the arc. It was back in early November the road game against the Clippers in which he made one that was also in the second quarter. He actually had a heat check try after in this second quarter tonight that didn't go. It's the seventeenth three pointer of his thirteen year career, and he had a first half double double, drumming with sixteen points and eleven rebounds on seven of ten shooting overall, and the Sixers did take a sixty one fifty lead into the halftime locker room. Coming into tonight, the Sixers eighteen and six this season when leading at the half. Third quarter, all Portland from the jump eight nothing run to take their first lead of the game at sixty three sixty one. Anferny Simons was the game high scorer tonight. In the third quarter was where he did most of his damage. The scoring run became fourteen to three Simons.
Simon's tips it away, steals it from Justin Edwards. Blazers on the move with Simon's quickly down the lane. Wow, what a play defensively, and he turned on the gas and got by Justin Edwards anforty Simons basically single handly putting them in the lead. He now has nineteen and their lady is five.
Anthony Simons with fourteen points in the third quarter thirty four in the game, the most for any player. He shot thirteen of twenty six, six for eleven from three two for two at the line. He scored twenty one of the thirty four in the second half tonight, Simons puts the Blazers ahead by more and at the six forty two mark of the third, Tyrese Maxi fell on a reverse layup attacking the rim against Donovan Klinging at the basket to the left here from our vantage point. He did not return, ruled out with a back contusion. Nick Nurse says he will travel to Minnesota tomorrow. But max he only attempted one more shot from his first half line in the second half, so he ended two for thirteen. He had been dealing with the right pinky injury on his shooting hand. He is dealing with that, so again his shooting totals on the lower I mean the low side, to say the least for him two for thirteen, only one of those came after halftime. One for seven from three didn't go to the line. He had six assists and zero turnovers. Five of those assists were in the first quarter, as were his five points five points, six assists for Maxi, who left the game early. Portland went up by eight, but Philadelphia cut it to one with three minutes left in the third. Quentin Grimes Here's Jabou Sale in the Grimes back door cut right hand lamp got it won a move by Crimes in a dish by Yaboo sixers to within one. Blazers ball under three and the third Quentin Grimes in an eighty seventy nine game favoring the visitors. Ten of his fourteen points were after halftime. Also had six rebounds and a career high nine assists to lead all players. Quinton Grimes in thirty eight minutes did not make a three, zero for five, was six for fifteen elsewhere or overall, rather made both of his free throws. Even with that, though, the Blazers outscored in the third thirty five twenty for a ninety one eighty one lead through three. Because they closed the third quarter with an eleven two scoring run ninety one eighty one, the tables had turned, and in the fourth big man Donovan Klingon top ten pick out of Yukon a two time national champ seven foot two double double night for him, he started yet another scoring run. He had the first of what was a ten nothing Trailblazers run in the.
Fourth well with Walker Walker trying to cut him off in the lane, lob Clinging catches, goes up and lays it in. How about that Donovan Clinging, he was in the dunker spot, reveals himself right at the rim and they lay it in the big man now with nine points eleven rebounds.
And that was when the Sixers were trying to gather momentum for a last ditch comeback effort, so every they had an answer down the stretch every time. Clingon ends with thirteen points, thirteen rebounds, seven of those which were on the offensive glass thirteen thirteen, and a game high three blocked shots for the rookie Clinging to put them up ten. Justin Edwards went down with a left ankle spraying in the final minute or so. That's the same ankle that he injured in the first practice after the All Star Break that caused him to miss the first three games out of the break, and the Blazers win in Philadelphia one nineteen one oh two. They split the season series with the Sixers one to one. The Sixers won one twenty five to one oh three in Portland back on December thirtieth. Ubre was a big part of that one, though again he and Paul George were added to the injury list. They were questionable coming into this one. It went the other way. They were ruled out. Ubra had eight steals in that first game against Portland this year, tied for the most for any player this season, and it's very rare to have that many because Dyson Daniels did it. It hadn't been done in four years before these two did, and it was Paul George in twenty twenty one. Neither George or Ubre in there tonight. Obviously embiide as well. So the Sixers will look to bounce back with Minnesota tomorrow. They are the eighth seed in the West right now, thirty three and twenty nine. Anthony Edwards had forty four on Sunday in Phoenix in a win which was yesterday. Dante Divincenzo's back playing for them. He made eight threes with twenty four points and five steals. Sixers Timberwolves tomorrow night, and we'll have that for you. The Sixers are twenty one and thirty nine. Blazers improved to twenty eight and thirty four tonight, and that will be it for this edition of the seventy six Ers postgame Show presented by Parks Casino. Again the final score the Blazers won nineteen, the Sixers one OZHO two. Thanks to our engineer Marty Dickerson, our producers Matt Manarik and Haley Taylor. So i'mon and of course Tom McGinnis on the call. That game tomorrow is an eight pm Eastern road start against the Timberwolves in Minnesota, and our coverage here on the Sixers Radio Network presented by Jackpot City Casino. We'll begin at seven point fifty Eastern. Until then, I'm Matt Murphy saying so long from the center. Thanks so much for listening. We'll catch you tomorrow. Take care,
