The Philadelphia 76ers hosted the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday. The 76ers were down by 15 points at the end of the first quarter. However, they won the game in a contest that was fairly close as time expired.
Joel Embiid, James Harden, and the 76ers put up a single-digit margin of victory in the game, winning by 5 points. The final score was Memphis 105, and Philadelphia 110 as the Grizzlies continued their struggles, which are basically correlational to the injury to Steven Adams.
Grizzlies @ 76ers Thursday: James Harden scores 31
With the loss, the Grizzlies are now 35-23 overall on the season. They have been on a major downturn, basically since they lost their starting center about a month ago. This was a game where they needed him as both of their backup centers were inadequate.
Brandon Clarke had just 2 points and 3 rebounds in 15 minutes of play. Xavier Tillman was an effective rebounder in the game, hauling down 12 boards. However, he was -4 on plus/minus in the game.
Memphis is not in any danger of missing the playoffs at this point. However, they could drop down when it comes to their seeding. With Phoenix, the Clippers, and the Mavericks all improving ahead of the trade deadline, Memphis dropping down to a 5 or 6 seed is not out of the question if they don't start posting more wins than losses in the weeks ahead.
Memphis Grizzlies: Recent Form Alert
- Memphis Grizzlies were 31-13 (January 19th, 2023)
- Following Thursday's game, they are 35-23
- Memphis is 4-10 in their last 14 games
Meanwhile, the 76ers improved to 39-19 with the 5-point victory. They will definitely find some inspiration in the victory as they overcame a large deficit. James Harden was instrumental in the game. He had an impressive 31 points in the contest to help Philadelphia start their post-break campaign with a victory.
Further reading: NBA Power Rankings
