3 biggest takeaways for Sixers following tough road loss to Spurs
· Yahoo Sports
The Philadelphia 76ers began their final 3-game road trip of the regular season with a visit to the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night. The Eastern Conference race is tight as teams jostle for position and the Sixers took a tough loss to the Spurs 115-102 as they dropped to the No. 7 seed in the East.
The Sixers were led by Joel Embiid with 34 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks while Paul George had 16 points. VJ Edgecombe had 14 points and eight rebounds while Tyrese Maxey had 15 and eight assists and Dominick Barlow had six and eight rebounds.
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Here are the three biggest takeaways following the loss:
George starts hot, but then fizzles
The 9-time All-Star continues to work his way back from his suspension and into a groove. He got off to a great start as he had 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting in the first quarter, but then shot just 1-for-9 the rest of the night. This has been a bit of a trend with George as he has started games hot--he started well against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday--but has not been able to keep that hot start going. This is the next step for him as he works his way back into a rhythm and a groove before the playoffs begin. He has to find a way to keep things going for a full 48 minutes.
Missed opportunity
The Spurs lost Victor Wembanyama at halftime due to a rib contusion and the Sixers should have taken advantage in this one. When considering how tight things are in the Eastern Conference, they can't afford to lose games such as this one. Obviously, the Spurs are terrific. This was their 60th win, but Philadelphia should have taken advantage. Instead, San Antonio relied on its transition game with 11 fast break points after halftime compared to just three for Philadelphia and the Spurs built a lead as large as 14 after halftime. If the Sixers end up in the play-in tournament, this is one loss they will look back on as one that will bother them.
Tough sledding on offense
Outside of what Embiid was able to do, the Sixers had a tough time really generating some good offense. As mentioned above, George was unable to get anything going after the first quarter, and Maxey shot 0-for-4 in the first half and 6-for-16 for the game. Edgecombe was 6-for-15, Kelly Oubre Jr. was 2-for-7, and Quentin Grimes was 2-for-7. The Sixers cannot have nights like this one with so much on the line for Philadelphia in terms of the standings. It's paramount for the Sixers to earn a top 6 spot and have the week off between the regular season and the playoffs rather than having to fight through the play-in tournament. There is a lot riding on these last three games.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: 3 biggest takeaways for Sixers following tough road loss to Spurs