In the second night of a back-to-back, the Philadelphia 76ers took on the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers came into Saturday night’s game with a 23-10 record and 14 wins at the Staples Center. The Sixers, on the other hand, were coming off a lost on Friday night to the Phoenix Suns.
Things did not get better for the Sixers as they fell to the Clippers 127-91 as the game got away from them in the third quarter.
The Sixers came into Saturday night’s game without starting point guard Michael Carter-Williams, who did not play due to precautionary reasons as he aggravated his right shoulder against the Suns.
With no MCW, enter Tony Wroten, who had a solid game against the Suns scoring 28 points and dishing out three assists.
In the first quarter, the Clippers got off to a hot start as J.J. Redick knocked down a three point bucket to increase Los Angeles’s lead to 16-9. Redick finished the quarter with 10 points on 2-of-3 shooting from three point range. Despite, the slow start in the first quarter, the Sixers offense was starting to figure it out and get it together.
The Sixers shot 52.6 percent from the field, but only 25.0 percent from three point land. Wroten scored six points while his backcourt mate K.J. McDaniels pitched in with four points and three rebounds.
On the other hand, the Clippers shot 56.0 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from three point range. In addition to Redick scoring 10 points, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin pitched in with 15 points combined as the Clippers led after one 34-21.
In the second quarter, the Sixers started to get their legs under them and made a mini run thanks to Robert Covington. Covington has been a bright spot for the Sixers and he played great on Saturday night. Covington scored seven points in the quarter, while Wroten scored 11 and Luc Mbah a Moute scored 10.
The Sixers also shot better from three point range as they knocked down 50 percent of their shots. The Clippers got cold from the three point line as they shot 25.0 percent but shot 47.4 percent from the field. Paul carried the team in the second quarter scoring eight points and dishing out three assists.
With 2:55 left in the first half, the Sixers were down 54-42 and that is when Covington took over. He scored the Sixers next five points as they score was now 54-47. After Covington’s outburst, the Sixers and Clippers went back and forth scoring points as Los Angeles led at the half 62-53.
To open up the third quarter, the Covington show continued as he scored five straight points to keep the Sixers in the game 65-60. A couple of minutes later, Wroten knocked down a deep three pointer to bring the Sixers within four points.
That was the closest the Sixers got as the Clippers started to impose their will. Los Angeles went to the line 11 times in the third quarter while the backcourt of Paul/Redick combined for 13 points. The Clippers had a lead as large as 17 and went into the final quarter winning 88-74.
Finally, in the fourth quarter, the wheels had fell off for the Sixers as they were outscored 39-17. Philly shot a horrendous 27.8 percent from the field, while the Clippers shot 65.2 percent and 60.0 percent from three point range. Off the bench for the Clippers, Jordan Farmar scored 13 points as Doc Rivers emptied out the bench.
Brett Brown did the same thing as Doc getting players such as JaKarr Sampson, Jerami Grant, and Furkan Aldemir more playing time. The Sixers ran out of gas in the second half as the veteran Clippers won 127-91.
In last night’s game, Covington was a bright spot that continues to get better. He finished the game with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 shooting from three point range. This season, Covington is averaging 12.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game. If he continues to play well this season, he can be an integral part of this Sixers team going forward.
With Saturday night’s loss to the Clippers, the Sixers are now 4-28 on the season and will take on Kyrie Irving and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night back at the Wells Fargo Center.
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