Nikola Jokic’s triple-double leads Nuggets in rout of undermanned Sixers

DENVER – It wasn’t quite like bringing a butter knife to a gun fight, but the 76ers were definitely overmatched on paper. And on wood.

The Sixers had to face the Denver Nuggets without their starting front court in two-time All-Star starter Joel Embiid, swingman Jimmy Butler, and power forward Wilson Chandler.

The Nuggets eventually took advantage of the Sixers' lack of bodies in a 126-110 decision Saturday night at the Pepsi Center.

The loss dropped the Sixers to 32-18, while the Nuggets improved to 32-15.

“We struggled scoring in the second half and it was a tale of two different halves,” said Sixers coach Brett Brown, whose squad shot 32.6 percent in the second half after shooting 51.1 percent in the first half. “But I think in general, you look forward to moving on, getting the guys healthy and continuing on with our season."

Embiid was given the night off to rest. He has been playing with back tightness. The 24-year-old received treatment Saturday at the Sixers' practice facility in Camden. He’s scheduled to join the team in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Chandler was out with left hamstring tightness. The tightness doesn’t appear to be serious. He had fluid drained from hamstring on Thursday. So missing Saturday’s game was precautionary. The former Nugget participated in shooting drills before the start of the contest. He’s expects to play against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

“If we needed this game, like it was a playoff run or something like that, I could have played easily,” Chandler said.

Meanwhile, Butler missed his third straight game with a sprained right wrist. He was in Los Angeles, where he lives in the offseason, to see a wrist specialist on Friday. The specialist confirmed that it was sprained. Butler flew here on Saturday in time for the game. He is expected to play in Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center.

On Saturday, Corey Brewer started in Butler’s place for the third straight game, Jonah Bolden started at center and Ben Simmons moved over to power forward, while T.J. McConnell took over Simmons' starting point guard position. JJ Redick was at his normal starting shooting guard spot.

Nikola Jokic took full advantage of Embiid’s absence. The center, who’s a league MVP candidate, finished with 32 points, 18 rebounds, and 10 assists for his seventh triple-double of the season.

But, for the most part, the Sixers played better than expected. They kept battling back from deficits to make things close until late in the third quarter. However, Jokic hit a pair of foul shots to give Denver a 105-90 cushion with 1 minute, 35 seconds left in the quarter. The closest the Sixers got the remainder of the way was nine points.

Redick paced the Sixers with 22 points, making 4 of 10 three-pointers. His third three-pointer gave him 1,609 for his career to pass Richard Jefferson for 22nd in NBA history. He has 1,610 in 808 career games.

Brewer, once again, showed why he’s not the typical guy playing on a second 10-day contract. The 32-year-old had his best game since joining the Sixers on Jan. 15 with 20 points, on 7-for-15, shooting to go with six rebounds, two assists and four steals.

But Simmons struggled to find his groove. The 2018 rookie of the year had 19 points and 12 rebounds and four assists for his 32nd double-double of the season. But struggled to convert shots around the rim in route to making just 6 of 17 shots and had a tough night on the defensive end.

“I missed a lot of layups,” Simmons said. “I missed a lot of easy ones. It happens. On to the next game”

The Sixers kept things close in the first quarter thanks to shooting 65 percent (13 of 20). The Nuggets opened a 12-point lead in the second quarter, but Philly pulled within two points (77-75) on Redick’s three-pointer 1:08 into the third quarter.

The Nuggets' lead would stretch to 18 late in the fourth quarter.

This game was a homecoming for Chandler, who the Sixers acquired from the Nuggets in a trade back in July. The team did a video tribute for him in the first half and received a loud reception from the sellout crowd of 19,673.

“I had some good years in Denver,” Chandler said. “I played with some great guys. I played with Corey here. .... I kind of grew up here.”