Sixers

The loss to Washington was yet another example of poor defensive effort from the Sixers out of the gates.

… That’s on us on the defensive end — how to start a game and how to know that each and every game in the NBA is hard to win, and you have to respect and honor every opponent.” When the playoffs roll around and the opposition is not at a clear talent disadvantage, the Sixers will have to consistently bring their ‘A’ game each and every night from the opening tip. Any team that has some confidence and some rhythm has the chance to beat you. We put no defense into the game until the second half, and we had to do zone to do that. I thought we came into the game — and you could see it early — we thought it was going to be an offensive contest and we were just going to outscore them. But we also have to have consistent play each and every night — what we can hang our hats on, what works for us. We’ve just got to do a better job being focused from the beginning.” Once a slight negative on that side of the floor, Harris now occasionally draws the assignment on opposing top scorers with varying degrees of success. We took the first rushed shot. Tuesday night fell into the latter bucket, as the Sixers gave up 67 points to the Washington Wizards in the first half, only to fall just short in erasing the nee-Bullets’ advantage for a 116-111 defeat. “We put no pressure into the ball. on falling behind again in the first half:

The Sixers got 48 points from Joel Embiid and made another comeback push, but their winning streak ended at eight games Tuesday night with a 116-111 defeat ...

Meanwhile, Embiid didn't score in the first half of the third quarter and went 0 for 4 from the floor to begin the second half. Down 111-108 in the game's last minute, the team probed the defense for most of the shot clock but didn't manage a clean attempt. For better and for worse, the Sixers' self-belief in those kinds of situations has grown lately after they came back from a 20-point deficit Friday vs. He was not available to speak with reporters postgame and the Sixers had no official update to offer on his status. “I thought in the second half they didn’t drive as much and they didn’t get as many offensive rebounds. The Sixers stuck with the zone, though, which has frequently been a nice alternative for them this year, and they were relatively successful on defense in the first half’s final few minutes. A scintillating Sixers highlight was wiped away after Harden pushed the ball up the floor and dropped off a between-the-legs, Magic Johnson-esque pass to Embiid, who steamrolled in for a slam. “I think rebounding comes from keeping the ball in front of you. Any team that has some confidence and some rhythm has the chance to beat you. The Sixers have been stronger than normal the past month at maximizing the stretches in which Embiid's dominance should reflect what's on the scoreboard, but that was not the case in D.C. Though the Sixers often seemed capable of taking any shot they pleased, their offensive ease didn’t translate to a first-quarter lead. Maxey has sat out 17 consecutive games after fracturing his left foot, though Sixers head coach Doc Rivers said pregame that he’s “getting closer.” According to Rivers, Maxey participated in a scrimmage Monday with the Sixers’ low-minute players and that went well.

After a loss to the Washington Wizards, Tobias Harris wants the Philadelphia 76ers to learn from their mistakes.

“In those eight games, it’s been aggressive defense and being able to get stops and then offensively moving the basketball and finding easy buckets.” These were not issues during the winning streak, but they are issues that have popped up in the past and this loss was a reminder of them. They could not keep Washington off the offensive glass which led to a loss.

The Philadelphia 76ers have been rising up the Eastern Conference with eight straight victories, but the streak, despite a 48-point performance from Joel ...

The best win was against the [Clippers](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/LAC/los-angeles-clippers/) with both [Kawhi Leonard](/nba/players/1715792/kawhi-leonard/) and [Paul George](/nba/players/1755181/paul-george/) in the lineup. Two of the other three were against the [Knicks](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/NY/new-york-knicks/) and [Kings](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/SAC/sacramento-kings/). Five of the wins came against sub-.500 opponents: the As a team, the Sixers, who register as one of the most accurate 3-point shooting teams in the league this season, made just six of 31 3s in Washington. In clutch minutes, categorized as a game being within five points during the final five minutes, the Sixers entered Tuesday night with the 24th-ranked offense in the league. [Georges Niang](/nba/players/2018910/georges-niang/), who has been a consistent 3-point shooter all season (43 percent), went just 1 of 7 from deep. Any Harden offense is always on the verge of stagnancy. But it should be noted that the Sixers' win streak didn't exactly come against the stiffest competition. [De'Anthony Melton](/nba/players/2268604/deanthony-melton/), who's been superb over the last month, finished with just six points. [Nikola Jokic](/nba/players/2135542/nikola-jokic/) each of the last two years, is right there in the mix again. It was Embiid's sixth 40-point game this season and the 32nd of his career, moving him past Wilt Chamberlain for the second-most such outputs in franchise history, trailing only Allen Iverson. [James Harden](/nba/players/1685255/james-harden/), who came in having combined for 34 assists in his previous two games, had another strong outing with 26 points and 13 assists, but there wasn't much support from the role players.