PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Zion Williamson had 23 points and 12 rebounds and Naji Marshall scored 19 points to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 103-95 victory Friday night against a Philadelphia 76ers a spiraling team without injured All-Stars Joel Embiid And Tyrese Maxey.
The Pelicans held on after their 36-point lead was cut to five on one Jeff Dowtin Jr. 3 point with 45 seconds left. The 76ers scored 34 points in a tense fourth quarter, but simply ran out of time to mount a tremendous comeback.
Tobias Harris had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Sixers, and Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 20.
The Sixers lost for the 15th time in 21 games, dropping the expected Eastern Conference contender to seventh place in the standings heading into the game.
They are 6-11 since Embiid lost in a Jan. 30 game when Golden State Jonathan Kuminga fell on the left leg of the 7-footer. There is still no timetable for Embiid’s return from knee surgery.
The 76ers lost their third straight game without Maxey, who is recovering from a concussion. Maxey lost his balance during practice Sunday in the third quarter of a game in Dallas and hit his head on another player’s knee. He left the game, but was able to come back and finish.
Coach Nick Nurse said before the game that Maxey was “doing very well” following the steps of the NBA’s concussion protocol and was hopeful of returning for Sunday’s game against the Knicks.
Do you think the 76ers are missing the stars of the franchise? The Sixers only scored 15 points in the first quarter and went nearly three minutes in the second quarter before scoring a point. The 76ers missed 18 of 20 3s in the first half.
While Embiid and Maxey are the biggest names out, the Sixers have been riddled with injuries this season – Nic Batum (left foot soreness) was added to a list of absent players that also included Robert Covington (knee) and De’Anthony Melton (back).
This helped make the evening easy for the Pelicans. They made five 3s and made 14 of 20 shots overall in the first quarter to take a 23-point lead. Under coach and former 76ers guard Willie Green, the Pelicans are fifth in the West.
The Pelicans led 50-20 and had another battle in store before letting the Sixers come tantalizingly close in the final moments. They tied a franchise record with a 48-point first quarter last Friday in a 27-point win over the Pacers. New Orleans won by 41 points and handed the short-handed Raptors the worst home loss in franchise history Tuesday night.
FOLLOWING
Pelicans: Play Sunday at Atlanta.
76ers: Play Sunday in New York.
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