By: Brandon Apter, managing editor 
Wednesday night's matchup between the Sixers and the Nuggets was not a pretty one from either end. Both teams were without two of their better players, the Nuggets without Danilo Gallinari and the Sixers without Nerlens Noel, but this game still came down to the wire. To put it simply: the Sixers lost in the most Sixers way possible. Let's take a look at how this one panned out…
The Sixers trailed early in this one, falling behind by as many as seven with under seven minutes to go in the opening quarter. After Denver took a 22-16 lead with just over four minutes to go, Philadelphia went on a 17-0 run to power them to a 35-24 lead after the first 12 minutes. Unfortunately, that run didn't roll over to the second quarter. The team the Sixers resembled in the first quarter made a quick exit for the second as they shot just 18.5 percent from the floor, which is 5-for-27 shooting, en route to being outscored 29-10. Their 11 point first quarter lead turned into an eight point deficit at the half.
Philadelphia rebounded and outscored Denver 28-22 in the third to bring the game to within two, 75-73, heading into the fourth. With 7:04 remaining in the game, T.J. McConnell's jump shot gave the Sixers a 91-88 lead, but the Nuggets responded with a 9-3 swing to take a 97-94 lead with just under four minutes to go. Thanks to Carl Landry, the Sixers scored eight straight, six of which came from the veteran forward, to give themselves a solid 102-97 lead with 1:52 to go. Philadelphia wouldn't score another field goal the rest of the way. After four Nuggets free throws to make it a 102-101 game, Denver fouled Robert Covington with 3.1 seconds to go, just after a missed layup from Emmanuel Mudiay. Covington hit 1-for-2 from the line and with no time outs, Denver in bounded the ball with 3.1 seconds to go and the rest can only be explained in video…
Deemed a 'cruel' loss by Sixers head coach Brett Brown, Philadelphia was kept from their 10th win of the season and there was nothing they could do about it. As a matter of fact, the game really shouldn't have even been that close to begin with, but luckily the Nuggets shot just 43.4 percent from the field all night, allowing the Sixers to remain within striking distance for the majority of the game.
The second quarter and foul issues is what should have lost the game for the Sixers, not the buzzer beater. Whether or not things would have been different otherwise, the Sixers were atrocious in the second and sent Denver to the line 40 times to their 15. After the Sixers fourth made shot in the second, they went 1-for-16 the rest of the way before the half.
But somehow, with Denver's poor shooting, they were able to keep it close. Robert Covington, in his first game back from suffering a concussion, scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Carl Landry also had 16 to go along with seven boards while Hollis Thompson scored 14 and Isaiah Canaan had 11. Former Sixer JaKarr Sampson scored nine points against his former team. He also had two rebounds and two blocked shots.
Here's some reaction from the Sixers and Nuggets following the dramatic finish:
T.J. McConnell, who tied his career high with 17 points, on defending Mudiay in the final seconds…
"I knocked the ball out of his hands and he picked it up and made what seemed to be a double-clutch 3-pointer," said the 76ers' T.J. McConnell. "It's one of the craziest shots I've ever seen. There really isn't much else to say." [NBA.com]
Emmanuel Mudiay on his mindset heading into the final possession…
"Just get it up," said Mudiay, who dazzled all night with 27 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. "Before that, I was really thinking about March Madness, like, man, anything can happen right now. I'm never going to give up until the buzzer." [Denver Post]
Nuggets coach Mike Malone on the final shot…
"Obviously, every in the building, all 3,661 people in the stands probably thought the game was over," Malone said. "And Emmanuel steps up and makes a (heck) of a shot. I couldn't be happier for him, I couldn't be happier for our guys." [Denver Post]
Nerlens Noel on watching the loss from the bench…
“It was real tough,” he said. “I saw a lot of things I could have helped out with, especially on the defensive end of them not even being a good shooting team. I think that would have really put some restriction on the paint. I think the guys did great and held it down. They got into a position where they could have won the game.” [CSNPhilly.com]
The Sixers are back in action on Saturday night against Portland. Their next five games are against teams bound for the postseason with the Trail Blazers, Warriors, Hornets and Pacers.
