3 observations after Maxey (39 points), undermanned Sixers fall to Rockets in OT

3 observations after Maxey (39 points), undermanned Sixers fall to Rockets in OT originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers were agonizingly close to a gutsy, shorthanded victory Wednesday.

At the end of the night, they came away with another loss.

The Rockets eked out a 122-115 overtime win at Wells Fargo Center, improving to 14-6. The Sixers fell to 3-14.

Tyrese Maxey posted 39 points, 10 assists and five steals. Rockets guard Jalen Green poured in 41 points.

The Sixers remained without Joel Embiid (left knee injury management), Paul George (left knee bone bruise) and Kyle Lowry (right hip strain).

Caleb Martin also missed his first game of the season because of back soreness. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said pregame that Martin has dealt with soreness and pain in his back since he fell hard on it during a win last Friday over the Nets. Martin is “day-to-day,” Nurse said.

The Sixers will head to Detroit next and play the Pistons on Saturday. Here are observations on their OT defeat to Houston:

Sixers bring more juice

Nurse opened the night with a Guerschon Yabusele-Andre Drummond frontcourt.

The bar was low, but the Sixers’ early energy was significantly higher than it had been to start their blowout loss Sunday to the Clippers. Andre Drummond grabbed two offensive rebounds on the game’s first possession, Kelly Oubre Jr. got a chase-down block on Dillon Brooks, and the Sixers beat out Houston on a few hustle plays. At times, the Rockets did look like a team playing the night after an overtime win.

The Sixers’ shooting was still poor to start, though. The team began 2 for 9 from the floor and 1 for 8 from three-point range. Jared McCain narrowly missed two threes, but he managed to do a bit of damage in the paint. He made a lefty fast-break layup on Rockets big man Alperen Sengun and a pull-up mid-range jumper. The Sixers went on a 7-0 spurt and took an 11-10 edge.

Unfortunately for the Sixers, Green’s scoring was the story of the first quarter. A 30.3 percent three-point shooter this season ahead of Wednesday’s game, Green drained three long-distance jumpers in the first period. Houston took a 35-24 lead on a deep, buzzer-beating Fred VanVleet three to punctuate the first. Yet again, it wasn’t long before the Sixers faced a double-digit deficit.

Bright night for Council  

Both Maxey and McCain assumed a heavy offensive burden whenever the other was on the bench.

Each forced up some contested mid-range shots, although it would be understandable if they didn’t instinctively view driving and kicking out to shooters as a strong option. The Sixers regularly turned down decent three-point chances and had plenty of possessions dwindle until the final seconds of the shot clock, too.

Ricky Council IV checked in with 10:29 left in the second quarter and immediately provided a significant spark. He slammed in a McCain miss, eagerly joined the scrap for rebounds and constantly tried to create fast breaks. Council wasn’t perfect in all of those endeavors, but his activity and athleticism were both welcome.

KJ Martin also played an extended stint during a second-quarter Sixers run. Martin converted two lefty finishes, Maxey sunk a three, and two Yabusele free throws lifted the Sixers to a 49-48 lead late in the second quarter.

Martin and Council were the only two members of the Sixers’ second unit after halftime. Council (12 points, 10 rebounds) was again impactful and earned a season-high 27 minutes. On one crowd-pleasing sequence, he made a tough three late in the shot clock, then stole the ball from Green and dropped a smart pass in transition off to Yabusele, who got fouled.

Sixers force a frenetic finish, can’t get job done in OT

A brutal Brooks night offensively — 0 for 11 from the floor — helped the Sixers’ defense Wednesday.

In contrast, Yabusele (22 points, seven rebounds) bumped his season three-point percentage up to 43.5 with a 4-for-6 game. Maxey assisted a pick-and-pop Yabusele three and then hit one of his own early in the third quarter.

Drummond played well in the third, too. He was solid in his matchup against Sengun and had effective, disruptive moments venturing out to the perimeter in pick-and-roll coverage.

Offensively, the Sixers mixed in the occasional Yabusele post-up but largely kept leaning on Maxey and McCain. The Sixers were vehemently displeased with multiple no-calls on aggressive Maxey drives. He attempted 34 field goals and five free throws in the game.

The All-Star guard didn’t stop attacking, though, and he scored several key buckets when Houston appeared on the verge of a meaningful run. His tightly guarded three in front of the Sixers’ bench cut the Rockets’ lead to 104-100 with 3:27 remaining in the fourth quarter.

It hurt the Sixers that McCain had a second consecutive off shooting game. He went 9 for 34 overall from the field and 2 for 18 from three-point range against the Clippers and Rockets.

However, Council came through with a big jumper late in the fourth quarter, which spurred a frenetic final stretch of regulation. Maxey ended up drawing a crucial foul on Brooks, getting a whistle while he shot a three-pointer with 11.1 seconds left. He made all three of his free throws to even the game at 108-all.

Following a timeout, the Rockets then isolated Sengun against Drummond. Martin shaded over to help at the perfect time, blocking Sengun’s mid-range attempt and sending the contest to overtime.

The Sixers had a great start to the extra session, seizing a quick lead with a Yabusele corner three, but Houston scored the next nine points. Sengun came through with six on a pair of put-backs and a slick spinning layup.

The Rockets had a cleaner conclusion to overtime than the fourth quarter and wrapped up their back-to-back with two OT wins. The Sixers dropped to 2-1 this year in overtime games and will hit the road at 11 games under .500.