The Philadelphia 76ers lost to the Memphis Grizzlies 104-99 in double overtime. As with many OT games, it was a very close game with big plays and big shots. The Sixers lost at home after winning four straight. The Grizzlies came in with a five game winning streak. A streak had to die, and neither team was ready to give it up just yet.
You could say the game was so close, fans couldn't…bear…it.
Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor struggled offensively against Marc Gasol. Gasol refused to allow the two young big men to get in any rhythm. Many times, he'd deflect entry passes to them. Offensively, he was able to get things done as well. At the end of the game, he had 27 points with 3 blocks and steals. Mike Conley nearly had a triple double himself as he finished the game with 25 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists. You can go ahead and change from "Mike and Molly" to "Mike and Marc".
Sixers ended the first quarter up by six. They started the second quarter nicely, and extended their lead to nine. The Grizzlies stormed back to within one but the Sixers came back with a mini run of their own to get back up by six. At the end of the quarter, Bayless made a layup to beat the buzzer and the Sixers were up by eight at half time.
Robert Covington led the way in the first half with 15 points, including 12 of them via three pointers. He shot 62.5 percent from the floor. Is it safe to say Covington is out of his shooting slump?
The Sixers looked like they were in control for most of the game, which was slightly surprising. The Grizzlies are very experienced and they are good. This is a playoff caliber team and the Sixers looked good against them.
Even though Embiid wasn't the usual scoring machine, he still had a typical game. At the half, he had 5 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks.
The Sixers spent the majority of the 3rd quarter keeping the Grizzlies off of their backs. The Sixers would extend their lead to around 10, then the Grizzlies would make a push to get within a few points. Sixers would push again.
But then, the Grizzlies finally pushed through and led by 6 points with just a couple of minutes left. Then, the Sixers came back through a series of forcing turnovers and solid defense. With the Sixers down 1, Embiid stole the ball from Conley and tossed it to Covington who was fouled attempting a layup. Covington made only one free throw to tie it at 86 points.
9.9 seconds remained as the Grizzlies got the ball. They went to Gasol who was wide open for a three to win the game. He missed it. Then, with 1.1 seconds left, the Sixers threw the ball into the post. Embiid caught it and tossed up a prayer with Gasol right in his face. No good.
Overtime.
From a scoring standpoint, it was very quiet for the first few minutes. With less than 2 minutes left, the score was 89-86, Grizzlies. Bayless scores a layup to make it 88-89. Then we had a timeout with 1:12 remaining. Grizzlies responded with Zach Randolph making a tough shot in the paint to give the Grizzlies a 91-88 lead with 49.7 seconds left. Then, confusion happened as the Grizzlies left Bayless WIDE OPEN for a tying 3. Swish. Grizzlies turn the ball over and the Sixers get it back. Bayless goes for the lead with a 3 with a few seconds remaining. He missed the shot, but, there's a foul on the rebound giving the Sixers another chance with 1.3 seconds remaining.
The Sixers went to Embiid once again and he took a fade-away shot while double teamed. No good. No kidding. Second OT.
By now, Embiid has passed his minute restrictions and, team doctors shut him down. Embiid wasn't happy about that. The Grizzlies struck first to go up 93-91. After the Sixers messed up, including a terrible flop by Ersan Ilyasova, the Grizzlies scored again to lead 91-95. Bayless drew a foul and made both free throws to get it to 95-93. Gasol responds with a dunk to get the Grizzlies up 97-93.
The Grizzlies were up 99-96 with 1:26 remaining. Covington had a chance to score on Conley, but fouled him. Turnover. The Sixers have 26 by now. Even though it's a second OT, those are a lot of turnovers, especially considering the Grizzlies had 15 at the time.
The Sixers managed to get a layup thanks to Bayless and trailed 98-99. With 20.9 seconds left, the Sixers began to foul. Conley made both free throws and the Sixers were down 101-98. Timeout Sixers. They respond with a Nik Stauskas floater that doesn't go. Sixers foul again and you can guess things don't work out for the Sixers as they were down by five and with no timeouts left.
Sixers were led in scoring by Ilyasova as he had 22 points. Covington had 15 in the first half, but finished with 19. Bayless chipped in with 18 points. Ilyasova, Embiid, and Covington all had double doubles tonight. Ilyasova had 12 rebounds. Covington had 10 rebounds. Embiid had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The Sixers played very well in this one, but you can definitely blame turnovers as a leading factor in their loss. The Grizzlies did step up their defense in the second half of the game.
Bayless is making a difference already in just two games. While he can play point gaurd, he seems like he's better suited to play off of the ball. Still, with the other options at PG, it seems like Bayless will stick in that spot. This could mean less time for T.J. McConnell.
The Sixers play on Friday against the Bulls.
