The Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday were routed 115-103 by the visiting Denver Nuggets, with the team so badly depleted by COVID-19 protocols and injuries that they were forced to dress an injured player.
The short-handed Sixers were down to just seven healthy players, pushing coach Doc Rivers to activate Mike Scott, who had a left knee injury, just so they could meet the league requirement to have a minimum of eight players. Scott sat on the team bench, but did not play.
“COVID created this, but the concern is not COVID now,” Rivers said. “The concern is injuries.”
Photo: AFP
The Sixers were missing a number of starters, including Seth Curry, who tested positive for the virus on Thursday.
Because of contact tracing, COVID-19 health protocols and injuries several other stars were also missing, including Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris.
Before the game, Rivers said he felt it should have been postponed.
“I don’t think we should [play], but it’s not for me to express that,” Rivers said. “I do worry about our player health.”
Also missing were Matisse Thybulle, Shake Milton and Vincent Poirier.
“I trust the league and I trust the doctors as far as health-wise,” Rivers said. “I’m more concerned with health on the floor.”
Nikola Jokic had 15 points and 12 assists and Gary Harris scored 21 points to lead the Nuggets.
Jamal Murray and Will Barton had 14 points apiece for the Nuggets, who broke open a close game after halftime. JaMychal Green and Monte Morris added 12 points apiece.
Rookie Tyrese Maxey tallied a career-high 39 points on 18-of-33 shooting, Isaiah Joe added 13 and Dakota Mathias had 12 for Philadelphia, who lost their second in a row and had their 20-game home winning streak snapped.
Cameroonian star center Embiid was sidelined with back tightness while Australian guard Simmons was out with knee stiffness.
“With the minutes we would have to ask [from Embiid], it would be insane to play him,” Rivers said.
The Sixers started veterans Dwight Howard and Danny Green alongside rookie guards Isaiah Joe, Tyrese Maxey and Dakota Mathias.
The Nuggets were without Michael Porter, who is in quarantine due to COVID-19 safety protocols.
“They deemed it safe enough to play,” Nuggets coach Mike Malone said. “To be honest, I think we’re going to start seeing more of this.”
Elsewhere, LaMelo Ball became the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, and the Charlotte Hornets beat the Atlanta Hawks 113-105.
The 19-year-old Ball is 177 days younger than Markelle Fultz was when he set the triple double record.
Tim Hardaway also scored 36 points and Trey Burke added a season-high 29 to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 112-98 victory over the visiting Orlando Magic.
The Mavericks were without forward Dorian Finney-Smith and guards Josh Richardson and Jalen Brunson due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
SWEEP THE LEG: Poirier, determined to best McGregor, after losing to him in 2014, used low calf kicks to throw ‘Notorious’ off his stand-up game, before dropping him American underdog Dustin Poirier yesterday shook up the world of mixed martial arts, beating up the legs of Irish superstar Conor McGregor before knocking him out at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi. “I’m happy, but I’m not surprised. I put in the work,” Poirier said, after the referee stepped in after 2 minutes, 32 seconds of the second round to save McGregor from further damage, after he was dropped by a fierce combination of punches. The 32-year-old Poirier was ranked second in the flyweight division going into the fight, but still rated a heavy underdog by bookmakers to beat his fourth-ranked opponent,
Badminton’s world No. 1 Tai Tzu-ying yesterday was handed a tough draw at Thailand’s World Tour Finals, as she was bracketed with home favorite Ratchanok Intanon and Indian star P.V. Sindhu. Tai, former world champion Ratchanok and Olympic silver-medalist Sindhu were grouped with Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong in Group B for the round-robin stage of the biosecure tournament in Bangkok. Tai faces Sindhu today. The delayed season finale from last year is the third behind-closed-doors event in three weeks in the Thai capital as badminton resumes after months of near-inactivity amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Spanish top seed Carolina Marin, seeking a hat-trick of wins in Bangkok,
HOLDING STEADY: Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying pushed past Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung to advance to a quarter-finals match against world No. 10 Michelle Li Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen and Wang Tzu-wei yesterday defeated their respective opponents in the second round of the Toyota Thailand Open, setting them up to face each other today in the quarter-finals. In an early match, world No. 12 Wang took 45 minutes to defeat Hong Kong’s Angus Ng Ka-long 21-13, 21-11. Last week, the world No. 8 ousted Wang from the Yonex tournament before defeating Chou in the semi-finals. Chou, world No. 2, defeated France’s Brice Leverdez in 48 minutes 21-19, 21-16. In other men’s singles matches, Indonesia’s fifth seed Anthony Ginting suffered an unexpected defeat to Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk-yiu, who moved into
MARIN REMATCH: Tai Tzu-ying saved six game points in her semi-final against Ratchanok Intanon, who went into the match with a superior head-to-head record Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying reached the final of badminton’s Thailand Open yesterday with a three-set win over Ratchanok Intanon, setting up a rematch against Carolina Marin. Tai won 12-21, 21-12, 23-21 in 59 minutes to set up her second final against Marin in two weeks, while Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin advanced to the final in the men’s doubles. However, Chou Tien-chen was eliminated in the semi-finals of the men’s singles. Tai saved six game points in the win against her Thai opponent Intanon, who went into the match with a superior head-to-head record against the Taiwanese world No. 1. Tai’s best streak was a
RSS