Sixers-Nuggets observations, best and worst awards: Corey Brewer is a keeper, Shake Milton continues to impress, life without Joel Embiid is a struggle

DENVER – The Denver Nuggets defeated the 76ers, 126-110, on Saturday night at the Pepsi Center. Here are my main takeaways and best and worst awards:

- The Sixers are a different team when Joel Embiid doesn’t play. Folks will talk about how the Sixers were undermanned due to Embiid, Jimmy Butler and Wilson Chandler all being sidelined. The team has won games when Embiid played and Butler and Chandler were sidelined. But they are turning into a wreck when the two-time All-Star game starter is sidelined. They dropped to 1-3 with three straight losses by an average of 17.3 points when Embiid sits.

- Corey Brewer deserves to remain with the Sixers for the rest of the season if not longer. Starting his third straight game in place of Butler (sprained right wrist), the small forward was Philly’s spark plug early on, making his first five shot attempts. Brewer, who’s on his second 10-day contract, also finished with a game-high four steals. Once Butler returns on Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Lakers, Brewer should provide much-needed bench help.

- Shake Milton continues to impress when called upon. The rookie guard, who’s on a two-way contract, made finished with 11 points while making 3 of 5 shots. In 12 NBA games, the SMU product is shooting 45.5 percent on three-pointers.

- The Sixers can depend on Landry Shamet as reserve point guard should something happen to T.J. McConnell and Ben Simmons. The rookie had backup point guard duties due to McConnell getting the start as Simmons, the normal starting point guard, played power forward since the squad was undermanned. Shamet, a point guard at Wichita State, had a career-high seven assists.

Best performance: I had to give this to Nikola Jokic for torching the undermanned Sixers. The Nuggets center finished with game highs of 32 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists for his seventh triple-double of the season.

Worst performance: This was a tough one to give out, because Jonah Bolden had a tough task starting in place of Embiid. However, the rookie post player didn’t match his recent level of play, finishing with three points on 1-for-3 shooting. Ineffective, Bolden only played 10 minutes, 55 seconds of action.

Best defensive performance: This goes to Brewer for somehow compiling four steals in what basically was a defenseless game.

Worst statistic: I had to give this to the Sixers shooting 22.7 percent in the fourth quarter.

Best statistic: This goes to the Sixers shooting 65 percent in the first quarter.