The 76ers (35-26) are back in South Philadelphia, set to play two rare home games in March, starting with hosting the Memphis Grizzlies (21-41) Wednesday.
The Sixers will play the second half of a game back-to-back shorthanded, after narrowly falling to the Brooklyn nets (25-37), 112-107, Tuesday in Brooklyn.
Kelly Oubre Jr. scored a season-high 30 points coming off the bench Tuesday – his second consecutive outstanding performance off the bench, after finishing with 21 points, five rebounds and four assists in Saturday’s 120-116 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
With Tyrese Maxey (mild concussion) a scratch at noon, Sixers starting lineup featured Kyle Lowry, Cam Payne, Buddy Hield, Tobias HarrisAnd Mo Bamba Tuesday in Brooklyn.
After the game, Nick Nurse credited Lowry’s (14 pts, 2 reb, 5 ast) production in his first outing as the primary ball handler and vocal leader of his new team.
“[Kyle] definitely does a lot of showmanship,” Nurse said. “He gets us key buckets. He sees a match or a play that he thinks is going to work, and that’s important for us.
Robert Covington (left knee bone bruise), Joel Embiid (left knee meniscus procedure) and De’Anthony Melton (back; lumbar spine bone stress) joined Maxey in Tuesday’s absentee contest. Cam Payne (illness) and KJ Martin (right ankle impingement) started questionably Tuesday, but were made available.
The Sixers’ two home games come to a quick end on Friday, hosting the New Orleans Pelicans (37-25), before returning to New York for a two-game set with the New Orleans Pelicans (37-25). New York Knicks (36-26). This three-game road trip ends with a visit to Milwaukee Bucks (41-21).
The injury-riddled Grizzlies had lost five in a row before beating the Nets, 106-102, Monday in Brooklyn.
Luke Kennard led the way for Memphis, finishing with 25 points, two rebounds and seven assists. He shot 8 of 11 from the field, 6 of 9 from long range and 3 of 3 from the foul line in his 27 minutes of play.
The Grizzlies are in 13th place in the West, behind No. 12 Rockets and leading No. 14 Trail Blazers and No. 15 Spurs.
The Grizzlies will be without Desmond Bane (left ankle sprain), Brandon Clarke (left Achilles tendon repair), Ja Morant (right shoulder labral repair), Scotty Pippen Jr. (lumbar disc bulge), Derrick Rose (right groin/lower back injury). recovery), Marcus Smart (right middle ring finger tear), Yuta Watanabe (right wrist sprain) and Ziaire Williams (right lower back/hip flexor strain) on Wednesday.
Jaren Jackson Jr. (right quad tendonitis) is questionable.
TUESDAY’S BEST PERFORMANCES
- Oubre finished his night with 30 points, six rebounds and four assists, shooting 11 of 20 from the field and 2 of 5 from long range in 36 minutes of play. He finished at a team-high +3.
- Harris totaled 18 points, a team-high nine rebounds, and four assists against Brooklyn, shooting 8 of 16 overall.
Oubre on the adjustments he hopes to see Wednesday against Memphis…
“Forty-eight minutes of defense. Crisp, clean spacing and pacing on offense. We can really get what we want if we do these things. But we have to keep our man, get rebounds and limit them to one opportunity.
Wednesday’s game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET in Philadelphia.
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Sixers will wear their blue Icon Edition uniforms, while the Grizzlies will wear their white Association Edition uniforms.
