Any time the Trail Blazers are on the schedule, the main objective is limiting the backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. The Sixers held off one, which was enough, in their 101-81 win over the Trail Blazers.
With the victory, the Sixers improved to 10-7 this season and went three games above .500 for the first time since Brett Brown guided the team to a 3-0 start in his first year at the helm.
• Joel Embiid battled a true center in the 7-foot, 275-pound Jusuf Nurkic. He came up with his eighth double-double of the season: 28 points (11 for 19 from the field), 12 rebounds, and two blocks. Embiid did not get to the free throw line after the first quarter.
• Lillard scored an unsurprising 30 points, but McCollum netted just five. The pair averaged a combined 47 points heading into the game. McCollum was scoreless in the first half and shot 1 for 14 from the field overall.
• Ben Simmons finished four seconds shy of a new-career high in minutes. He played 39:03 and neared a triple-double with 16 points (8 for 20 from the field), eight rebounds and nine dimes. Simmons attempted only two free throws.
Philadelphia 76ers
Complete coverage of the Philadelphia 76ers and their rivals in the NBA from NBC Sports Philadelphia.
• The Sixers took the Blazers out of the game from the start. They ran off with a 16-0 lead and held the Blazers scoreless (0 for 13) for the first seven minutes. (Count the misses here.) The Sixers led 26-14 after one.
• Lillard scored 12 points in the second quarter to try to get the Blazers back into the game. The Sixers edged them out with balanced scoring among the starters. Even though the Sixers committed 10 turnovers and shot 33.3 percent from three in the first half, their early run was enough to give them a 50-37 lead at halftime.
• Embiid scored eight points in the third to nearly neutralize Lillard's nine. The Sixers and Blazers scored 20 points apiece in the quarter. Neither team shot the ball well from three, combing to go 1 for 11.
• The Blazers' 81 points were a season low by a Sixers' opponent and Trail Blazers' season-low scoring total.
• Embiid swatted a Lillard shot attempt all the way back to Portland late in the third. OK, so the ball obviously didn't go that far but it was a monster block nonetheless that got me thinking about this moment at shootaround in San Francisco.
Embiid using his volleyball skills today 🏐🏀 pic.twitter.com/s65UU00xWX— Jessica Camerato (@JCameratoNBCS) November 11, 2017
• Amir Johnson continued to attack the glass. This time, he balanced his rebounding efforts with five offensive and six defensive boards in 18 minutes off the bench.
• "Trust the process" took a seat to a new chant late in the game. Fans chanted "We want Okafor" with less than a minute to play and the Sixers up 22. Jahlil Okafor did not get in the game. Furkan Korkmaz, though, played the final 2:09.
• The Sixers' turnover problem kept at bay the Trail Blazers' poor shooting. The Sixers committed 18 turnovers but the Blazers, who shot 33.7 percent from the field, only translated that into 18 points.
• Injury update: Justin Anderson (left leg), Markelle Fultz (right shoulder) and Nik Stauskas (right ankle) were sidelined for the Sixers. Al-Farouq Aminu (right ankle) was out for Portland.
• The rosters were filled with former players on either side. The Sixers drafted Turner (2010) and Maurice Harkless (2012). Jerryd Bayless played for the Trail Blazers his first two seasons (2008-10).
• Speaking of Turner, his days in Philadelphia are long gone but not forgotten. Turner didn't live up to the expectations of his draft value and so, years later, this happened:
Evan Turner was not only booed when he checked into the game, he's been booed every time he touches the ball.— Jessica Camerato (@JCameratoNBCS) November 23, 2017
• Rapper Lil Uzi Vert was at the game again.
