What Should Be Fueling Sixers on Final Road Trip

Not exactly the way to start a road trip, huh?

The Sixers fumbled their way to 26 turnovers as they blew multiple double-digit leads in a 118-110 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday in the opener of a four-game road stint.

Good thing for the Sixers is there is always another game just around the corner in the NBA. And in their case, each one presents a little extra motivation to get the job done.

At Charlotte (March 6/7 p.m.)
If nothing else, the Sixers simply want to get the bad taste out of their mouth from the meltdown in Milwaukee. After taking care of the ball exceptionally well the previous two games, the Sixers' Achilles heel crept back up against the Bucks.

"We just kept turning the ball over," Ben Simmons said. "Offensively, we didn't make any plays, didn't execute."

Not to mention, the Sixers didn't exactly play their best ball in last week's 110-99 home victory over the Hornets. It took a monster 36-19 fourth quarter for the Sixers to secure the win.

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At Miami (March 8/7:30 pm.)
Playoff implications are boiling over in this one. The Sixers sit just one game ahead of the Heat in the standings and will be looking to claim the series clincher in the final meeting of the season for the all-important tiebreaker.

Throw in the fact that the Sixers blew a late lead to a vintage Dwyane Wade and the Heat just last week, and the energy should be all the way cranked up for this clash on South Beach.

"That's the type of loss we're maybe going to regret because I think if we would have won those two games, we would have had a chance to be third or fourth in the conference," Joel Embiid said after the 102-101 loss to the Heat on Feb. 27. "We've just got to keep staying focused and win some more games." 

At Brooklyn (March 11/7:30 p.m.)
The revenge factor is often overplayed in sports. However, if one of your worst losses of the season came on the the road to one of the worst teams in the league, there is certainly a measure of payback.

The Sixers allowed the Nets to shoot 50.6 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from three-point range in a 116-108 loss back on Jan. 31. 

"We forgot how to play defense," Embiid said after the game.

With Jahlil Okafor and Nik Stauskas able to gloat about winning their first meeting vs. the Sixers after getting traded away, you can bet the squad will want to put an end to that happiness this time around.

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