Philadelphia 76ers: Heartbreaking loss as Sixers squander lead

The Philadelphia 76ers seemingly had the game in control until an Eric Gordon buzzer-beater sealed their fate against the Houston Rockets.

Leading 104-97 with 1:39 remaining in Wednesday night’s game, and with possession left, the Philadelphia 76ers seemed primed to earn an impressive early season win against the Houston Rockets.

But unfortunately for the Sixers, they were unable to capitalize on a number of chances down the stretch, ultimately falling to an Eric Gordon buzzer-beating 3-pointer for a 105-104 loss.

In fact, a Ben Simmons‘ layup with 3:04 remaining in the fourth quarter was the last time the Sixers scored. Over the final 3:04 of the game, the Sixers missed all four field goal attempts and committed three turnovers.

After the game, head coach Brett Brown was understandably disappointed:

"“I think that we let one slip …. some of it was luck, some of it you’d love to have that execution back. I’ve got no problems with what we ran, I think how you run it, we can do a little bit better. I think there was some really tough luck.“I didn’t have any problem with our defense, I thought by and large our defense was pretty good … executing offensively down the stretch was disappointing …. Ultimately we do have to walk those games down with a little bit more authority.”"

J.J. Redick led all Sixers scorers with 22 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Joel Embiid added 21 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Furthermore, Redick was an incredible +23 in his 34 minutes on the floor despite the loss.

Playing just six minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, Embiid ended up playing 24 minutes in total.  But although he again displayed flashes of his immense talent, Embiid was somewhat outplayed by opposing center Clint Capela, who had 16 points, 20 rebounds and six blocks, including six boards on the offensive glass.

Following the game, Embiid commented on the Sixers’ heartbreaking loss:

"“It’s a learning experience, we’re going to grow a lot from this … all you can take away from this is a learning experience because we’re going to need that in the future.”"

Rookie Ben Simmons again impressed in posting 14 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and three steals, while forward Robert Covington added 20 points, six rebounds and two steals. But an unlikely player who captured the praise of both coach Brown and Embiid following the game was backup point guard T.J. McConnell.

Playing 28 minutes, McConnell posted six points, nine assists, five rebounds and six steals as he presented himself as a constant threat at both ends of the floor.

Firstly, coach Brown couldn’t contain his admiration:

"“Inspirational, game-changing stuff. Really a reminder to us all … T.J. wins, that kid is a winner …. I thought his game tonight was inspirational.”"

Then Embiid added his praise:

"“I thought he was the best player on the floor. Because defensively he was all over the place, he was all over James [Harden], getting steals, playing defense, setting up the team as a point guard.”"

Looking ahead, the Sixers now head out on the road where they take on the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night.  But despite the loss, coach Brown believes his team will respond:

"“I think this group responds, I think this group wants to get better … This loss is a real sting, this loss stings … we’ll come out stronger, we’ll learn from it.”"

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Now with a 1-4 record, Brown and his men will be fully aware that the time is now to get their season on the right track.