PHILADELPHIA _ Brett Brown has a lot to be thankful for these days.
The 76ers coach has a new-era point guard in Ben Simmons. Brown also Joel Embiid, who can become the league's most dominant post player if healthy. And at some point, he'll incorporate Markelle Fultz into the mix of what has been his most talented squad in Philly.
Brown's thankful for that. And he definitely appreciates the Sixers' performance against the Portland Trail Blazers on Thanksgiving eve.
The Sixers scored the game's first 16 points en route to their 101-81 decision Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Center. This was a season-low points total for the Blazers (10-8).
Embiid had another dominant game, finishing with a team high 28 points, a game-high 12 rebounds, and two blocks to go with four turnovers. It was his eighth double-double of the season.
Meanwhile, Simmons added 16 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds. T.J. McConnell (13 points), Dario Saric (11) and JJ Redick (11) were the team's other double-digit scorers. Embiid's backup, Amir Johnson, had another solid performance with four points on 2-for-4 shooting to go with 11 rebounds.
Portland point guard Damian Lillard finished with a game-high 30 points. His backcourt mate C.J. McCollum had one of his worst performances of the season. He finished with five points on 1-for-14 shooting. Meanwhile, the team's third-best player, center Jusuf Nurkic, had 14 points, 11 rebounds and six turnovers.
With the victory, the Sixers (10-7) extended their winning streak to three games. But this game was supposed to be a good test.
In Portland, they faced one of the league's top young tandems in Lillard and McCollum. Nurkic also dominated in the Blazers' last game against the Sixers on March 9 in Oregon.
With Embiid sidelined, the 7-foot, 275-pounder finished with 28 points and career highs of 20 rebounds, eight assists and six blocks in that matchup.
Meanwhile, Lillard came into the matchup ranked 10th in the league scoring at 24.4 points per game. McCollum was the league's most improved player in 2016.
With those three leading the way, the Blazers played exceptionally well in the half court. That's not the way the Sixers wanted to play.
Turns out they didn't have to.
The Blazers missed their first 13 shots. Taking advantage, the Sixers built a 16-0 advantage after Johnson's basket with 5 minutes, 49 seconds left in the first quarter.
Reserve point guard Shabazz Napier finally put Portland on the scoreboard with a jumper 48 seconds later. However, McConnell responded with a 3-pointer to give the Sixers a 17-point advantage.
Sparked by Lillard's 12 second-quarter points, Portland pulled within eight points on two occasions late in in the first half. But the Sixers went on to take a 13-point halftime cushion. The closest the Blazers would get after that was within nine.
