Nuggets fall short in shootout with 76ers as Joel Embiid drops 41 points in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA — The 1983 and 1990 Denver Nuggets were sweating at halftime. A franchise that didn’t possess many records or milestones before last season was at least responsible, on separate occasions, for the highest scoring NBA game of all time (370 points in 1983) and the highest scoring regulation NBA game of all time (320 in 1990).

Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and company were keeping decent pace with history for the first half of a marquee clash of MVP centers that eventually slowed down — marginally. The 76ers emerged with a 126 121 win Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center in the first of two matchups this month between teams contending near the top of the standings in their respective conferences.

After a first half in which neither team could make a run because neither team could get a stop, Denver and Philadelphia exchanged haymakers in the second half. The Nuggets ended the third quarter on a 12 0 surge after trailing by eight, but the decisive blow belonged to Embiid and the 76ers. The hosts fell behind 111 105 with 8:41 remaining when Reggie Jackson sunk a 3 pointer out of a pick and roll with backup center DeAndre Jordan.

Then Philly responded with a 16 2 run, featuring a Marcus Morris game tying 4 point play and culminating when Embiid nailed a three over Jokic with 4:53 to go. Embiid finished with 41 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. Jokic had 25 points and 19 rebounds, including a career high 11 offensive boards by the end of the third quarter.

Jamal Murray did more of Denver’s distributing, accounting for 17 points and 10 assists. It was 78 78 at halftime with both sides gasping for air after Murray’s buzzer beater three. All 10 starters were shooting better than 50% from the field. Seven total players were in double figures, including Christian Braun off the Nuggets’ bench.

The 76ers were shooting at a better clip as a team, but Jokic negated that advantage by snatching seemingly every Denver miss. In a decision reminiscent of what he did as Toronto’s coach last season with O.G. Anunoby, Nick Nurse guarded Jokic with non centers rather than Embiid for much of the night, mixing up coverages.

Jokic exploited the tactic by leaving his biggest imprint on the glass, but he was also responsible for four of the team’s 10 turnovers, and he missed two open 3s in crunch time as Denver was trying to rally. Meanwhile, Nuggets coach Michael Malone put Aaron Gordon on Embiid more than Jokic. Before they could play the first of five games on a season long 11 day road trip, the Nuggets couldn’t get off the ground.

The team flight to Philadelphia, which was scheduled to leave at noon local time Monday, got delayed five hours on the tarmac after the plane’s engine froze due to inclement weather. It was around 10:30 p.m. ET by the time the Nuggets reached their hotel in Philadelphia. “We sang some songs. Held hands,” Malone said.

“We made the most of the moment. The nine hour moment.” As the travel delay lengthened, all five Nuggets starters appeared on the team’s Monday night injury report as questionable with various afflictions. They were each upgraded to probable on game day, and Malone said pregame there would be no limits on any of their minutes.

Nor would there be on Embiid’s, Nurse said, even with Philadelphia playing the second game of a back to back. The injury report chair pull was an ironic twist on the narrative that drove Nuggets fans gaga last season: that Embiid is too often conveniently unavailable for big games (such as Philadelphia’s only road game at Denver last season).

After the reigning MVP’s huge night, the next test of that theory will be Jan. 27 at Ball Arena..