Harden, Clippers thoroughly beat up Sixers

It was a rough start and it never got much better as the Sixers were crushed by the Clippers Sunday night.

Well, the city edition jerseys and court look nice. Whether actual basketball was played in/on them is a different story.

The Sixers got demolished 125-99 by the LA Clippers Sunday night, falling to 3-13 on the season.

Jared McCain had his first off night as a starter, but still finished with a team-high with 18 points on 3-of-15 shooting. Tyrese Maxey had 17 points shooting 5-of-13 from the field. James Harden led all scorers with 23 points along with eight assists.

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.

First Quarter

• The smaller starting lineup the Sixers have been using didn’t get off to a great start defensively. The Clippers scored on six of their first seven trips down the floor, taking advantage of several second-chance opportunities. The Clippers grabbed six offensive rebounds in the opening quarter.
• On top of not getting any stops, they once again couldn’t buy a shot on offense. They started the game just 1-of-9 from three and shot 45.5% from the field in the quarter. The only thing resembling a good look they got early were Kelly Oubre Jr.’s fast breaks.

• The best offense in that quarter from the Sixers might have been from Reggie Jackson, and all he did was get to the basket once and knock down a three. It was a rough quarter for McCain, who was 0-of-2 from three and a turnover that probably should have been credited to him, but he was able to get to the line four times. The Sixers trailed by 12 after the first.

Second Quarter

• The offense was slightly better to start the second. Maxey getting on the board helped, but their defense was still a mess. They continued to get killed on the glass, and their aggressive double teams resulted in the ball being swung to wide open shooters more often than not.
• The defense finally locked in halfway through the quarter as the Clippers went nearly five minutes without a field goal. While the Sixers were able to chip away at the lead, the offense going cold again made it hard to go on a big run. McCain was having an off night — he got some really good looks getting to his regular spots but they just weren’t falling. Even when it’s not falling for him, he does just move the ball really well.

• Despite a looser minutes restriction for Maxey, it felt like he had a rather passive half. He made a really tough and-1 layup towards the end of the half, bringing him up to just six points on six shots. After an even quarter, the Sixers went into the break still down 12 points.

Third Quarter

• The Clippers ripped off a 7-0 run to start the second half that was pretty much just the result of Derrick Jones Jr. being wide open. It turned into a 9-0 run after a quick Sixers’ timeout when Harden got to the free throw line. The Sixers tried to go bigger with Andre Drummond out there with Guerschon Yabusele, but they still couldn’t stop Harden’s two-man game with Ivica Zubac.
• Maxey was more assertive at the start of the third, doubling his point total in just a couple of possessions, but he checked out about five minutes into the quarter. The Sixers proceeded to run a lineup with both Maxey and McCain on the bench for over three minutes as the Clippers’ lead ballooned.

• McCain finally got on the board with a three with five seconds left in the quarter, insert the “Chris Paul cuts the lead to 42” meme. The Sixers trailed by 25 at the end of the third.

Fourth Quarter

• The final quarter was pretty much just a watch to see if McCain could give his streak of 20 more points alive. He came into the quarter with 12 points despite being 2-of-11 from the floor. The end of the bench started filing in as Adem Bona and Lestor Quinones checked into the game three and a half minutes into the quarter.
• The Sixers will wrap up this homestead Wednesday when the Houston Rockets come to town at 7 p.m. ET.