Joel Embiid was the only bright spot in an inexcusable blowout loss | Sixers-Blazers best/worst

This was inexcusable.

The 76ers suffered a 121-105 home loss Thursday to the Portland Trail Blazers, who were playing without their best three players. The Blazers had only nine available players, yet posted a runaway victory over the Eastern Conference’s first-place team. Here’s a look at the best and worst performances from the game:

Joel Embiid gets this. The Sixers center scored a game-high 37 points in 33 minutes, 38 seconds of action despite having a first-half scare. The big man left the game in the first quarter after hyperextending his right knee. However, he responded by scoring 25 points in the second quarter for a total of 31 at halftime. Embiid took four only shots after intermission. And with the game out of hand, he logged only 5:17 in the fourth quarter.

Danny Green gets this. However, it could have gone to a number of Sixers. Green missed four of his five shots and finished with three points.

Robert Covington gets this. The former Sixer had a game-high four steals to go with nine points and six rebounds.

This goes to the Sixers’ going 0-for-10 on three-point shooting in the first half. They were 7-for-27 for the game.

This goes to the Sixers’ making 20 of 24 foul shots.

This goes to the Sixers’ loss. Yes, Ben Simmons was sidelined with left-calf tightness and Seth Curry was held out of the second half because he wasn’t feeling well, possibly due to aftereffects of COVID-19. But that’s no excuse to get blown out by a Blazers team that was a shell of itself. Portland was without its best three players in Dame Lillard (abdominal strain), CJ McCollum (left midfoot fracture) and Jusuf Nurkic (right wrist). Chester’s Derrick Jones Jr. (left foot sprain), Nassir Little (left knee) and Zach Collins (left ankle) also missed the game.