76ers Embarrassed By Nuggets 144-109, Lose Seventh Straight Game
Philadelphia 76ers forward Guerschon Yabusele, left, goes up for a basket as Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Little to no effort was what the 76ers put on display Tuesday night, as Nick Nurses’ squad was defeated by the Denver Nuggets 144-109 in a terrible performance in the mile-high city. With the loss, Philadelphia extended its season-long losing streak to seven games and has lost nine of its last 11 games overall.
Tyrese Maxey was the leading man for the 76ers finishing with 28 points and 10 assists, while Guerschon Yabusele added 22 points, three rebounds and three assists off the bench. Points weren’t hard to come by for the 76ers, as the real issue was the lack of defense from Philadelphia as they gave up a season-high 144 points.
Meanwhile, Nikola Jokic showed why he is a three-time MVP with another dominating triple-double performance. Jokic finished with 27 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists on 9-14 shooting, Michael Porter Jr. added 19 points and six rebounds, while Julian Strawther and Christian Braun finished with 23 and 20 points respectively.
Right out of the gate, Tyrese Maxey knocked down the first 76ers shot of the night, however, the Nuggets answered with pairs of free throws from Nikola Jokic and Russell Westbrook, as well as a mid-range bucket from Michael Porter Jr. Eric Gordon checked himself into the scorebook knocking down a pair of long threes, but Denver was still pulling ahead with four points from Christian Braun and another bucket from Jokic.
Westbrook extended the lead for Denver with a long three-pointer and Braun continued his hot start with an alley-oop dunk from Jokic. Buckets from Jokic again, Porter, and Jamal Murray extended the Nuggets’ lead to nine, and despite a floater from Maxey, Aaron Gordon knocked down a long three to make it 26-16 Denver.
Paul George drilled a three-pointer of his own, but the lack of defense from the 76ers allowed the Nuggets to score not one, two but three straight easy buckets in the lane to extend their lead. As the final minute of the quarter ticked down, Jokic continued to impress with a long three of his own, however, Guerschon Yabusele and Reggie Jackson each scored buckets to make it 35-27 Denver after 12 minutes.
In the second quarter, the Nuggets kicked things off with five points from free throws before Julian Strawther and Justin Edwards traded threes. The threes kept falling for the Nuggets as Peyton Watson knocked down a three, and after a couple of buckets from the 76ers, Strawther drilled another triple.
After a timeout from Denver, Maxey scored right away getting three points from an and-one layup and three more from a long triple. Strawther added another three of his own and Eric Gordon and Porter joined in on the fun with three-pointers of their own. Back and forth, Strawther and Maxey knocked down long threes as the 76ers could not catch back up to the Nuggets, who increased their lead to 12.
With just over three minutes left in the first half, Yabusele drilled another three, however, Jokic added to his impressive first half with another easy layup. The 76ers finally started cutting into the Nuggets’ deficit with back-to-back threes from Yabusele and Edwards, but Jokic and Porter didn’t let it last long as they both knocked down mid-range shots. With the final minute winding down, George and Maxey knocked down mid-range shots to make it 77-67 Denver.
Out of the break, Maxey continued where he left off with a running floater, but the Nuggets answered back with seven straight points. Andre Drummond broke that run with a two-handed slam, but a pair of free throws from Braun and a bucket from Westbrook extended Denver’s lead to 17 forcing Nick Nurse to call a timeout.
After the timeout, Kelly Oubre Jr. slammed a dunk and Yabusele scored a layup, but the Nuggets kept scoring with Porter drilling. a three and Braun hitting a two-footer. Yabusele knocked down back-to-back threes and Maxey added one of his own, but once again the Nuggets answered with a three from Aaron Gordon and easy shots in the lane from Porter, Westbrook, and Braun to make it 106-86.
Jokic continued to toy with the 76ers drilling another three-pointer to extend the lead, but Maxey knocked down back-to-back buckets before Oubre and Ricky Council IV scored their own shots. With the final minute of the quarter ending, Murray added back to the Nuggets lead with four points, and Jokic hit another shot to make it 117-94 Denver after three quarters.
With 12 minutes left to play, the Nuggets once again added to their already sizeable lead. Strawther and Edwards traded buckets back and forth, and Council drilled a long three but was answered once again with a three from Strawther. Aaron Gordon scored five straight points and DeAndre Jordan added four more, as both teams began to empty their benches. The 76ers got a couple of buckets from Adem Bona and Jeff Dowtin Jr, but the deficit was too much as the Nuggets defeated the 76ers 144-109.
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Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
