Nuggets rout short-handed Sixers, 124-96, behind Christian Braun’s 22 points
Down four starters, the Sixers struggled to keep pace with Denver all game and lost the first game of a three-game road trip.
DENVER — Christian Braun had 22 points, Nikola Jokic finished with 14 assists, and the Denver Nuggets routed the injury-plagued 76ers 124-96 on Tuesday night.
Denver kept pace with Minnesota, which beat Phoenix on Tuesday night, in a tight Western Conference race. There are 1½ games separating the third-place Los Angeles Lakers and the Timberwolves in sixth.
Philadelphia played without Joel Embiid (right oblique strain), Tyrese Maxey (sprained finger) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (left elbow strain). Paul George is serving a 25-game suspension.
» READ MORE: Sixers start a three-game road trip with a dud in 124-96 loss at the Denver Nuggets
The sold-out crowd booed Embiid when he came to the bench for the first time in the third quarter. Embiid has missed the last six Sixers games in Denver, denying Nuggets fans an MVP matchup between the Sixers’ big man and Jokic.
Jokic scored eight points on 4 of 7 shooting but reached 10 assists in less than 12 minutes. He picked up two quick fouls and a technical in the first quarter after dishing out eight assists.
Cameron Johnson scored 18 points and Jamal Murray finished with 12 points after shooting 1 of 14 at the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night. Murray missed his final 13 shots before fouling out in the overtime loss.
Denver was missing its starting five when the teams met in Philadelphia on Jan. 5 but pulled out an overtime win against a healthy Sixers team.
The Nuggets didn’t suffer the same fate as the Sixers on Tuesday night. They never trailed, jumping out to a 16-point lead after the first quarter and 71-38 on Braun’s two free throws with play with 1 minute, 39 seconds left in the second quarter.
Denver held the Sixers to 40 points in the first half, the fewest it has allowed, and never let them back into the game.
The Sixers continue their three-game road trip at the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night (10 p.m., NBCSP).