The 76ers (29-14) have arrived in Denver for stop number two on their season-long five-game road trip, visiting the defending champion Nuggets (31-15).
The Sixers will seek a bounce-back victory after opening the trip with a 134-122 loss at Indiana Thursday.
The first heavyweight battle between Philadelphia and Denver was Jan. 16 in Philadelphia, as the Sixers took one of their more impressive wins of the season, 126-121.
Joel Embiid scored a dominant 41-point, 10-assist double-double, plus seven rebounds and a block. He shot 13-for-22 overall and 3-for-6 from deep in the Sixers’ win.
Tyrese Maxey added 25 points, five rebounds, nine assists, and two steals, while Tobias Harris contributed 24 points, five rebounds, four assists, a steal, and a block.
“Even [playing on] a back-to-back, the energy was there,” Harris said after the win, which came on the second half of a back-to-back after beating Houston on Jan. 15. “The atmosphere in the arena was there. The matchup between [Joel Embiid] and [Nikola] Jokic obviously is prime time.”
Jokic offered Embiid props following that first matchup:
“[Joel is] a really good player. I mean, he’s historic right now, averaging 30-something points every night. That’s extremely hard to do.”
Embiid continues to lead the NBA in scoring, averaging a massive 36.0 points per game. Dallas’ Luka Doncic, the league’s second-highest scorer as of Friday, averages 33.6 points per game.
Also as of Friday evening, the Sixers and Nuggets continue to occupy the No. 3 spots in their respective conferences, with the Sixers 1.5 games behind the No. 2 Bucks (31-13), and the Nuggets one game behind the No. 2 Thunder (31-13).
OPPONENT OUTLOOK
The Nuggets (31-15) return from a five-game road trip of their own to host the Sixers Friday. That trip began in Philadelphia on Jan. 16, and ended Thursday night at New York. The trip included wins over Boston, Washington, and Indiana, with losses to Philadelphia and New York.
Two-time MVP Nikola Jokic continues to lead the Nuggets in scoring (26.3 ppg), rebounding (11.9 rpg), assists (9.0 apg), and blocks (0.9 bpg).
Jokic’s 11.9 rebounds per game marks the fourth-highest rebounding average in the league, as do his 9.0 assists per game.
Denver point guard Jamal Murray is averaging 20.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game.
THURSDAY’S KEY PERFORMANCES
- Joel Embiid
- Embiid finished with a game-high 31 points Thursday, plus seven rebounds and three assists. He shot 11-for-20 from the field and 2-for-4 from deep in 31 minutes of play.
- Tyrese Maxey
- Maxey totalled 22 points, a rebound, two assists, and a block in 29 minutes of play.
- Ricky Council IV
- Council had a major performance off the bench, scoring a bench and career-high 11 points in his 12 minutes of play down the stretch. He shot 3-for-6 overall, and added an offensive board and a steal to complete his line.
FOLLOW ALONG
Thursday’s game is a 5:30 p.m. ET start in Denver (3:30 p.m. local).
Watch: ABC
Listen: 97.5 The Fanatic
UNIFORMS
The Sixers are scheduled to wear their white Association Edition uniforms, while the Nuggets will wear their black City Edition uniforms.
@SIXERS SOCIAL