A dreadful first half dooms Sixers
PHILADELPHIA — The boos inside the Wells Fargo Center began early Friday night when a KJ Martin 3-point attempt sailed over the rim without a graze.
They continued when Zion Williamson blocked Paul Reed inside. And when Buddy Hield could not convert a fast-break layup attempt. And when Nick Nurse called timeout with 6 minutes, 15 seconds remaining in the second quarter, his team already trailing by 30 points.
Those frustrated reactions shifted to cheers late in the fourth, while the shorthanded Sixers were in the midst of a stunning final charge. But their dreadful first half was too much to overcome in a 103-95 loss to continue their slide while playing without injured stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
The blowout-turned-nail-biter defeat was another blow to the Sixers’ postseason positioning. They entered the night at 35-28 and sitting in seventh place in a tight Eastern Conference, where 2 ½ games separate fourth place and eighth.
Maxey, an All-Star this season, missed his third consecutive game with a concussion. He has begun the protocol steps to return — including a workout scheduled for Friday night — and Nurse expressed optimism that Maxey could return as soon as Sunday’s game at the New York Knicks.
Yet Maxey could not provide the offense the Sixers desperately needed against the Pelicans.
They began a horrendous 9-of38 stretch from the floor and missed 18 of their first 19 3-point attempts to descend into a 55-20 second-quarter deficit. Tobias Harris, who is expected to shoulder more offensive load when Embiid and Maxey are sidelined, went 2 of 7 from the floor before the break.
Hield missed all five of his shots in the first half during that span, and eventually finished 2 of 10 from the floor.
The Sixers, though, were not much better on the other end of the floor in the first half, allowing the Pelicans to shoot 56.1% from the field and 9 of 17 from beyond the arc.
Harris led the Sixers with 21 points and seven rebounds, while Oubre added 20 points and seven rebounds.
Reed finished with 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting and 11 rebounds, returning to an off-the-bench role as Mo Bamba (two points, six rebounds in 18 minutes) started to match up against traditional center Jonas Valanciunas.
The Sixers will play nine of their next 12 games on the road, starting with two consecutive matchups at the Knicks on Sunday and Tuesday.
After that, they will face the surging Milwaukee Bucks — and former coach Doc Rivers — on Thursday.