MEMPHIS, Tenn. — When it comes to dealing with injuries, the Memphis Grizzlies have a lot in common with the 76ers.
Both squads have not only had to play without their best players, but they picked up a couple of impressive victories without them.
And as fate would have it, both squads were undermanned in Monday night’s meeting at FedExForum.
The Sixers were without starters Joel Embiid (right rib soreness) and Seth Curry (right shoulder soreness). Meanwhile, this marked the eighth straight game the Grizzlies were without star point guard Ja Morant (left knee sprain and COVID-19 protocols). Memphis was without four players total in its 126-91 victory.
“They are playing hard,” Sixers coach Doc Rivers said of the Grizzlies earlier in the day. “They are similar to us. They are a hard-playing, hard-nosed team. They create turnovers. ... . And that’s what they do.”
The loss dropped the Sixers to 15-13 and snapped their three-game winning streak. It also extended a pair of losing streaks to the Grizzlies (17-11). Memphis now has won the teams’ last three meetings, and last eight contests in Memphis.
The undermanned Grizzlies have been one of the league’s hottest teams, winning three straight and eight of nine games.
Memphis led by as many as 27 points (96-69) on Dillon Brooks’ layup with 2 minutes, 52 seconds left in the third quarter. They extended their lead to 36 points in the fourth quarter.
But things were so lopsided that Sixers rested four of the night’s starters in the fourth quarter — Matisse Thybulle, Tobias Harris, Andre Drummond, and Tyrese Maxey.
Brooks dominance
While Embiid and Curry missed the game, Grizzlies starters Jaren Jackson Jr. (left knee soreness), Steven Adams (left ankle sprain) and Desmond Bane (left foot soreness) all played after being listed as questionable.
All three players made contributions. Jackson even scored Memphis’ first two baskets on a three-pointer and a dunk after missing Saturday’s victory over the Houston Rockets.
But Brooks was, once again, the Grizzlies’ standout.
The small forward scored on jumper, three-pointers and layups. He finished with 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting to go with six rebounds. Fourteen of his points came in the first half on 6-of-8 shooting. He sat out of the fourth quarter.
Brooks made an off-balanced 14-footer over Drummond with 9:21 seconds left in third quarter that even impressed the Sixers’ backup center. Drummond gave an “I can’t believe he made that” look after the shot went in. Then he gave a respectful nod to Brooks while running upcourt on the ensuing possession.
Embiid’s absence
Embiid kept downplaying the plan on his right side.
He repeatedly grabbed the right side of his chest and stretched it out during Saturday’s home victory over the Golden State Warriors. That came one game after he was evaluated for abdominal pain on the right side. At that time, Embiid said he didn’t know the cause of the pain.
The Sixers could have used him and Curry on Monday. They missed Embiid’s presence on both ends of the floor and Curry’s sharpshooting.
The Sixers made just 4-of -2 three-pointers, were outrebounded 50-38, and committed 15 turnovers, with seven coming in the first quarter.
Maxey paced the Sixers with 23 points on 9-for-17 shooting to go with a game-high seven assists. Harris had 12 points on 5-for-12 shooting. Thybulle finished with two steals.
Furkan Korkmaz started alongside Thybulle, Harris, Drummond and Maxey. Drummond started in place of Embiid, while Korkmaz replaced Curry in the starting lineup. Thybulle got his second start after shutting down Golden State’s Steph Curry on Saturday.
This marked the 11th game that Embiid missed this season.
Embiid, who had been hampered by right-knee soreness early in the season, got a scheduled off day against the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov. 1. Then he returned after missing nine games due to testing positive with COVID-19 on Nov. 27. The Sixers dropped to 3-8 in games he’s missed this season.
Due to injuries over his career, Embiid has only played six career games against the Grizzlies.
Next up
The Sixers next face the Miami Heat on Wednesday at the Wells Fargo Center. The Heat are 16-12 after their 105-94 road loss to Cleveland on Monday night.
