You can put it in the record books, ladies and gentleman. The Sixers (15-51) have reached another level of rock bottom, losing their 20th straight, this time to the Memphis Grizzlies by a score of 103-77. This losing streak is tied for the longest in franchise-history for Philadelphia, dating back to the 1972-73 season.
The Sixers took the first lead of the game on a Thaddeus Young shot from beyond the arc, making it 3-0. The teams traded baskets for the entire first quarter. A Mike Miller hook shot with under two seconds to play in the first quarter put the Grizzlies up 22-21.
After Tony Wroten tied things at 22 with a free throw, Memphis began to pull away. Behind a 12-2 run, the Sixers found themselves trailing 35-26 with 4:37 to go in the half. They began to chip away at the lead though. A Henry Sims layup was followed by a Thaddeus Young dunk and two straight buckets from Carter-Williams, giving the Sixers an 8-0 run of their own. That cut the deficit to three, 35-32. The Grizzlies answered though as Zach Randolph finished off the quarter with a pair of free throws and a layup, putting them ahead 45-36 heading into the locker rooms.
Memphis came out of the half strong, starting the third quarter on a 10-3 run, extending their lead to 16, 55-39. Michael Carter-Williams attempted to spark the team with a three-pointer, but the Grizzlies answered with seven straight points. After three quarters, the Sixers were trailing 72-57.
An 8-0 run in the fourth from Memphis put the Sixers away for good, making it 93-64 with 6:27 to play. In the final two quarters, the Grizzlies outscored the Sixers 58-41. The final horn sounded, giving the Sixers a deflating 103-77 loss. A night after challenging the Pacers, the Sixers didn't show the same fight and that showed in tonight's blowout.
Although the score was lopsided, Thaddeus Young and Michael Carter-Williams both had good games. Young finished with 20 points and seven rebounds while MCW had a game-high 23 points to go along with eight rebounds. The remaining Sixers starters went just 3-for-20 from the floor. Tony Wroten put in another solid night off of the bench with 13 points and four rebounds. Another silver lining to look at here was the rebounding, as the Sixers outrebounded the Grizzlies 42-41. Sure, it is only one but Gasol and Randolph are usually much more effective. That being said, the Sixers had their issues shooting, especially at the free-throw line, going 9-for-19.
The Grizzlies were led by their top scorer, Mike Conley, who finished the night with 19 points and four assists. Zach Randolph added 14 and Marc Gasol had 11. Memphis outshot the sixers 54.3% to 37.3%. The two big men for the Grizzlies only had six rebounds combined.
Up Next: The Sixers will have another chance to upset the Pacers as they travel to Indiana for a matchup on Monday night at 7PM.
Brandon Apter is a writer for Sixerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @ApterShock
