Sixers Fail to Complete Comeback vs. Grizzlies on Saturday Night

On Friday afternoon, the Philadelphia 76ers hit the road for the first time since Monday. After sweeping the Miami Heat in a two-game series down in South Philly, the Sixers geared up for a back to back set of games away from home, beginning with a matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night.

While the Sixers have regained some help as players got healthy over the last few days, they couldn't avoid heading into their two-game road trip without being shorthanded. In addition to not having Furkan Korkmaz, Seth Curry, and Vincent Poirier available, the Sixers also didn't have Mike Scott and their starting center Joel Embiid on board.

With Embiid and Curry out, the Sixers rolled out a starting lineup that included Ben Simmons, Danny Green, Tobias Harris, Tyrese Maxey, and Dwight Howard. In two games without Embiid this season, the Sixers struggled to overcome the void of their three-time All-Star. 

On Saturday night, the Sixers looked forward to seeing what a Simmons-led lineup could look like. While Simmons played more aggressively on the offensive end through the first quarter compared to past games, he struggled to contribute on the scoreboard as he shot 0-for-5 from the field and missed both of his foul shots.

Fortunately, the rest of the starting lineup, along with Shake Milton off the bench, made up for Simmons' offensive struggles as the Sixers got off to a 26-25 lead through the first 12 minutes of action. The one-point lead didn't last very long, though.

In the second quarter, Grizzlies standout Ja Morant made his presence felt as he went 5-for-5 from the field, totaling for ten points in seven minutes of action. Although the Sixers had a decent showing before heading into halftime, it wasn't enough to avoid falling behind Memphis, who put up 35 points in the second quarter. 

Coming into the second half, the shorthanded Sixers trailed 60-54. Although they had some momentum in the second quarter, their third-quarter performance wasn't all that promising. As a team, Philly shot just 26-percent from the field and drained only 33-percent of their three-pointers in the third quarter. 

In addition to their shooting struggles, the 76ers turned the ball over nine times after turning it over 11 times already in the first half. As the Sixers were outscored by six points, they went into the fourth quarter trailing double-digits as the Grizzlies took on a 88-76 lead through three.

With a sense of urgency, the Sixers cleaned up their act in the fourth quarter and started forming a much-needed comeback led by their sixth-man, Shake Milton. After having shooting struggles throughout the game, the Sixers knocked down 60-percent of their shots from the field in the final quarter.

Milton, who came off the bench, got the green light from Doc Rivers to play the entire fourth quarter as he was the hot hand for Philly once again. The third-year guard contributed to 15 points on 11 shots in the final quarter to add to his team-high total of 28 points for the night. Milton got help from Tobias Harris, who added six points to his 21-point total for the night.

The 76ers outscored the Grizzlies by ten points in the fourth, but it wasn't enough to help them come away with a win. As the Sixers trailed a single point down the stretch of the game, Simmons forced a bad pass down the court, which caused another turnover for the Sixers. 

Although they got the ball back once again, Tobias Harris then converted Philly's 23rd turnover of the night by stepping out of bounds underneath the basket. After fouling and getting the ball back with less than 10 seconds on the game clock, Sixers rookie Tyrese Maxey launched a prayer three-point shot, which failed to go in.

With that miss, the Sixers took their fifth loss of the season by falling short to the Grizzlies 106-104. The 76ers will have a quick turnaround this weekend and will face the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road on Sunday night.