By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly Staff
On Tuesday night, the Sixers traveled out to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies. The Sixers came into the game with a record of 4-17 and were looking for their first win since November 21 against the Heat.
The Sixers were able to stay close against the Grizzlies throughout the contest, and looked to stay hot as the game came to a close in the fourth quarter.
In a game that the Sixers trailed Memphis after the first quarter, Philadelphia dominated the second and third quarters, and took a close game into the fourth and final quarter, looking for their fifth victory of the season.
Ersan Ilyasova proved to be the difference-maker for the Sixers, leading the team with 23 points, added 17 rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and a steal to his stat-sheet.
Dario Saric was the Sixers' leading bench scorer during the game with 17 points and 7 boards to his name.
Despite lacking the services of Jahlil Okafor, Jarryd Bayless, Nerlens Noel, and Joel Embiid, the Sixers still looked impressive as stellar play from Ilyasova surprisingly kept the Sixers in contention to win the game, until the closing seconds ticked off the clock, and it was too late to keep the magic happening.
Marc Gasol led the way for the Grizzlies, as he had 26 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal.
Zach Randolph and JaMychal Green were the two other Grizzlies with 10+ rebounds, as the rebounding game proved to be one of the biggest traits of this team in their pursuit of a big win over a hungry Sixers basketball team.
The Grizzlies took over down the stretch, and the Sixers were unable to capitalize on a three point deficit a few times in the closing seconds, as the Grizzlies finally put the icing on the cake with dagger-like foul shots to put the game out of reach.
The Grizzlies defeat the Sixers 96-91. Philadelphia will look to snap their eight game losing streak on Thursday December 8, against the Pelicans in New Orleans. Tip-off at 8 p.m. ET.
