The 3-13 Sixers returned to action Wednesday night, playing host to a young and athletic Houston Rockets team which was looking to sweep a road back-to-back after an impressive overtime win against the Minnesota Timberwolves the night before. The Sixers remained without Joel Embiid (knee), Paul George (knee) and Kyle Lowry (hip), with Caleb Martin (back) joining them on the sidelines. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse had to rely on his starting backcourt of Tyrese Maxey and rookie Jared McCain to deliver a much-needed win.
Unfortunately for the Sixers, hanging in there and showing toughness does not count for anything if you fail to outscore your opponent, in this case a 122-115 loss — especially when the loss sinks you to 3-14 on the season.
Unlike in their previous loss against the Los Angeles Clippers, the Sixers showed consistent fight and focus from the outset. Facing a team with far superior athleticism, depth, size and length — not to mention talent, given the Sixers' many notable absences — the Sixers were able to hang in there.
It looked like all of that would be fruitless, with Houston pulling ahead late. Late-game heroics from Maxey — including a game-tying trio of free throws with 11.1 seconds remaining in regulation — gave the Sixers new life in the form of overtime. Houston thwarted the momentum working against them, showing tremendous maturity for such a young team — at the expense of a Sixers team incredibly desperate for any win they could get.
Caleb Martin misses first game of season
The 2024-25 season has not been very kind to the Sixers' 29-year-old newcomer wing. Martin has struggled mightily with his shooting mechanics, been forced into handling an offense role far greater than what he should reasonably be assigned for a competitive team and, recently, taken plenty of hard falls.
Martin is perhaps known for his toughness more than anything, but a lingering back injury which Nick Nurse admitted has caused Martin significant pain also may have been contributing to his underwhelming play. Martin did not participate in the team's Tuesday practice and was listed as questionable for Wednesday's game after only logging 76 seconds of second-half action during the team's Sunday evening loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Ultimately, on Wednesday Martin did not suit up for action for the first time all season, perhaps giving him a runway to getting healthier: the Sixers were off on Monday and Tuesday and will be off on Thursday and Friday, meaning if Martin returns on Saturday, he will have received five days off.
Instead of replacing Martin's in the starting five with another wing, Nurse opted to start both Andre Drummond and Guerschon Yabusele in the frontcourt alongside Maxey, McCain and Kelly Oubre Jr.
Sixers struggle to keep up with Jalen Green early
The Rockets hod distinct physical and athletic advantages over a Sixers team that is below-average in both departments right now. This was likely the motivation behind Nurse going big in the starting five, and it quickly became apparent that being more forceful on the boards had been emphasized to the team.
In the meantime, though, Rockets fourth-year bucket-getter Jalen Green got on a roll. Green totaled 18 points in just the first 11 minutes of the game, torching any Sixers defender put in front of him.
Between Green's early heater, poor offense from most Sixers rotation pieces and a 37-footer to beat the buzzer from Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet, the Sixers trailed Houston 35-24 after one quarter.
Positive early signs
Houston held a steady lead for much of the first half, but the Sixers did show some signs of life thanks to a few standout performers:
• Oubre scored nine points in the first quarter, giving the Sixers a healthy dose of rim pressure that they needed to help ease the burdens of Maxey and McCain:
Maxey had a poor start to the game as a scorer, while McCain struggled from beyond the arc but made things happen closer to the basket. Oubre's much-needed scoring punch helped the Sixers stay afloat as Maxey tried to work his way into the game.
• Yabusele has unrelenting faith in his three-point stroke, where his improvement over the last few years has enabled an NBA return. The 28-year-old entered Wednesday's game shooting over 41 percent from beyond the arc on considerable volume, and he knocked down both of his long-range tries in this first half.
McCain and Yabusele may be the only Sixers to outperform the expectations bestowed upon them heading into the season, but they have done so to extreme degrees. Yabusele is one of this team's best players.
• Nurse has continued to try to make Ricky Council IV work as a change-of-pace, spark plug sort of player, which fits his style as an athletic wing who is capable of making jaw-dropping highlight plays. For whatever reason, though, the second-year player had been unable to change the complexion of a game there way he did on several occasions as a rookie.
Until Wednesday, when his energy helped flip the lead from a 13-point margin in favor of Houston to, at times before intermission, a Sixers advantage. It all started with a put-back dunk after a miss from McCain:
Soon after, Council would draw an illegal screen and show some excitement which further ignited an increasingly-optimistic crowd. Council helped pave the way for a strong spurt.
Sixers trim Rockets lead to four points at intermission, led by Council, Maxey and KJ Martin
Council made both of his shot attempts in the first half, but what will surely be most exciting to Nurse is that Council grabbed seven rebounds in 10 minutes and change. Nurse has spoken ad nauseam about wanting Council to utilize his excellent athletic tools to become an imposing rebounder, but it has yet to materialize. The Sixers outscored Houston by seven points during Council's lengthy stint in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, Maxey finally found a semblance of a rhythm later in the half. And he did it thanks to KJ Martin, possibly Maxey's closest friend on the team. Maxey and the fifth-year forward he often calls "Jack" have developed strong on-court chemistry, with KJ Martin's short-roll passing chops proving useful alongside a guard who draws plenty of double-teams. His ability to set sturdy screens also enables Maxey to flow into pull-up triples like this:
Houston mustered a decent response to close the half, carrying a 55-51 lead into the first half. The Sixers had three players in double-figures heading into intermission on top of Oubre's nine points. Green posted 21 points in the first half for Houston, whose "Terror Twins" made a strong impact: Tari Eason totaled 12 points and four rebounds in 13 minutes, while Amen Thompson racked up seven points, six rebounds, two assists, three steals and two blocks in 17 minutes.
Sixers finally avoid third-quarter collapse thanks to aggressive defense and a Maxey heater, but Rockets maintain lead
Thriving immediately following halftime has not exactly been a strength of this Sixers team, but on Wednesday they were able to avoid the kind of catastrophic stretch which has plagued them in third quarters all season long — even after Houston opened the frame with a strong push.
Drummond had a very good opening to the second half, imposing his will on the boards, scoring a putback layup, knocking down a pair of free throws and using his hands to make a pick-six. The Sixers have been desperate for a version of Drummond resembling the one they saw during his brief stint in Philadelphia a few years back, which has not been what they have received so far in 2024-25.
It would also be malpractice to not mention this.... interesting... step-back three from Council:
Meanwhile, Maxey shook off a slow start and turned red-hot, knocking down tough shot after tough shot in addition to a few rim finishes. Even during this horrific start to the season, when Maxey gets hot, the Philadelphia crowds get excited:
The persistent Rockets stayed the course, and a corner triple from Rockets guard Aaron Holiday — yes, one of Jrue's younger brothers — capped off a Houston end-of-quarter run with a corner triple that extended their lead back to six points.
Sixers' valiant effort nets second chance in overtime
The Sixers fought in this one, and they looked like a much better coached team than they have for much of the season to date. It just seemed that they could not muster enough offense to overcome Green's stellar night and Houston's terrific individual and team defense. The Embiid- and George-less Sixers will often be on the wrong end of talent discrepancies, and that was the case in this one.
But thanks to late triples from Maxey and Council, plus a driving layup from Yabusele, the Sixers were able to gain possession in the final moment of the game with a chance to tie things up. Maxey did just that, and he did so in the most unusual of ways: the Sixers' All-Star point guard drew a three-point shooting foul against Rockets defensive ace Dillon Brooks, went to the line and calmly knocked down a trio of free throws to tie the game with 11.1 seconds remaining in regulation.
Nurse brought KJ Martin and Drummond into the game for defensive purposes, and the two of them teamed up to stonewall Rockets star center Alperen Şengün on a drive to send the game to overtime. Maxey's brilliant shot-making in the second half had kept his team firmly in the mix, and finally, the Sixers experienced some good fortune.
Sixers fall to 3-14 with overtime defeat
Yabusele kicked off the scoring in overtime with a corner triple, but Green tied the game up when Drummond fouled him on a three-point try and he, too, knocked down three consecutive free throws. Şengün grabbed an offensive rebound and laid the ball in to put Houston back in control, then did the same thing a second time to put the Rockets up by four points with two minutes remaining.
Like much of regulation, the Sixers spent the majority of overtime chasing Houston -- and it finally caught up to them. Green's regulation dominance and Şengün's mastery in overtime were too much to overcome.
It would be silly to pretend the Sixers did not create positive developments to build on during this game -- but they have to win games at some point. Otherwise, the wheels will completely fall off.
Up next: The Sixers will now get set to embark on a two-game road trip, with a Saturday night contest against Tobias Harris, Paul Reed and the Detroit Pistons up first before the Sixers face the Charlotte Hornets.
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