Battle of diminished teams in Pennsylvania between Sixers and the Grizzlies. Enough to allow Memphisguided by Jaren Jackson Jr. (27 points), Jay Huff (20 points, 5 rebounds) and Ja Morant (18 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds), to achieve a second success in a row at Philadelphia (124-107), despite Tyrese Maxey (23 points, 6 assists, 3 interceptions).
After a balanced first quarter (28-24), where Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr. united with their 3-point skill to respond to Jaylen Wells, the Sixers created a first gap thanks to the contribution of Eric Gordon, sharp coming off the bench. Except that the Grizzlies don't let themselves be defeated for very long, with Ja Morant coming back into play and stepping up to get his points near the circle but above all serving his teammates well, such as Wells or Jay Huff, while Scotty Pippen Jr. also shows beautiful things. The trend then reverses, even if Tyrese Maxey tries to resist as best he can (59-52).
After the break, things didn't get better for Philadelphia. Worse: they are getting worse, with Ja Morant and Scotty Pippen Jr. continuing to distribute the caviar, especially for Jay Huff who is doing the total for Memphis. The +20 is reached, Philly begins to lose a bunch of balls and finds itself KO. standing (92-75).
That's when Jared McCain gets hot to try to reignite the suspense, but Jaren Jackson Jr. also heats up to stand up to him. Both have fun scoring, but one starts further than the other and Ja Morant takes care of driving the point home: game over (124-107).
WHAT TO REMEMBER
– Philadelphia impatiently awaits its stars. Present on the bench, Joel Embiid and Paul George are still not on the field, which obviously does not suit the Sixers, already defeated four times in their first five games. Tyrese Maxey may do his best, the team around him is limited and the margin for error for Nick Nurse's players is too minimal for them to be able to win this type of meeting. Especially with so few easy shots, poor defense in transition, too weak an interior sector and just not enough talent overall. We must hope for the return of the Embiid/George duo as soon as possible…
– It's Huff love in Memphis. If Ja Morant and Scotty Pippen Jr. with their assists (25!), Jaren Jackson Jr. with his big fourth quarter, Zach Edey and Santi Aldama with their rebounding work (23 to two) or even Jaylen Wells with his great start were all valuable, we will remember that it was the contribution of the always surprising Jay Huff who killed Philly in the third quarter. The gap was then stabilized at around ten points, when the pivot came into play to initiate a 16-6 almost single-handedly, thanks to his 3-points. Enough to turn +20 with this maximum efficiency.
– The altercation between Joel Embiid and a local journalist. A sign of the nervousness currently reigning in Philadelphia, awaiting the return to play of Joel Embiid and Paul George, the pivot had an altercation with a columnist from the Philadelphia Inquirer, in the locker room after the meeting, about a article which criticized the state of health of the 2023 MVP by mentioning his son and his deceased brother.
How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
