Sixers keep first-round playoff hopes alive with 116-96 win over Memphis Grizzlies

MEMPHIS — The 76ers came, saw, and put a blemish on the Memphis Grizzlies’ Marc Gasol Jersey Retirement Night.

On the night the Grizzlies celebrated one of their all-time greats, the Sixers kept their top-six playoff seed hopes alive with a 116-96 victory at FedExForum.

Saturday’s victory improved the Sixers to 43-35, and extended their winning streak to four games. The Eastern Conference’s eighth-place team also pulled within a game of the sixth-place Indiana Pacers (44-34), with four games remaining.

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Joel Embiid finished with 30 points, 12 rebounds, and two blocks in just 22 minutes, 39 seconds in his third game back from left knee surgery. It was his best game since being sidelined for two months.

The reigning MVP also reached another career milestone. With his 28th point of the night, Embiid cracked the 12,000-career-point threshold. He became the seventh player in franchise history to reach the mark, joining Hall of Famers Hal Greer, Allen Iverson, Dolph Schayes, Julius Erving, Charles Barkley, and Billy Cunningham. Embiid finished the night with 12,002 career points.

Meanwhile, Kelly Oubre Jr. had another solid performance, finishing with 17 points, five assists, two steals, and one block. Tyrese Maxey had seven points and five assists. Embiid, Maxey, and Oubre, along the Sixers’ other two starters on the night — Kyle Lowry and Nico Batum — sat out the fourth quarter.

Scotty Pippen Jr. paced the Grizzlies (27-51) with 24 points.

But not everything went smoothly.

The game was stopped for about five real-time minutes with 1 minute, 5 seconds into the second quarter because the floor was loose in certain sections. KJ Martin, Buddy Hield, and Embiid pointed it out to an official and arena employees. The employees moved the scoreboard back and used a mallet to adjust the playing surface before play resumed.

“One of the segments moved to the left, so there was a gap and then they moved it back,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said. “Or maybe more than one segment, or three, or four segments. I was ready to go... kind of like that women’;s game the other night where both coaches just said, ‘Let’s play anyway.’ I was ready to play.”

Tobias Harris missed his second game with a left knee contusion. The starting power forward tested his knee at the morning shootaround, but it was determined an hour before the game that he would not play.

This comes after he hyperextended the knee after colliding with an Oklahoma City player in the final two minutes of Tuesday’s 109-105 victory over the Thunder at the Wells Fargo Center. An MRI on Thursday in Miami determined Harris has a bruise. At the time, a source said he would miss one to two games.

“Possibly. I mean, I thought he may make it today,” Nurse said of Harris playing Sunday against the San Antonio Spurs. “So, when I think that, usually when another day goes by, you’re going to kind of think the same thing, but let’s see.”

The Grizzlies retired Gasol’s No. 33 jersey in postgame ceremony. The 39-year-old averaged 15.2 points and 7.7 rebounds during his 11 seasons in Memphis. The Spaniard was the most decorated player of the Grizzlies’ Core Four, alongside Mike Conley, Zach Randolph, and Tony Allen. Gasol was a three-time All-Star and garnered a defensive player of the year honor in Memphis.

“He was all about helping the team get better,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said. “He made others better around him. Obviously, I was on the other side competing against him. He was a handful. Ultimate competitor, high basketball IQ, can beat you in so many different ways.”

The Grizzlies traded Gasol to the Toronto Raptors on Feb. 7, 2019, and he helped the Raptors win the NBA title that season. Nurse was the Raptors coach at the time, and was elated to be on hand for the jersey retirement. Nurse watched the halftime ceremony.

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“Really cool when I saw the announcement that they were retiring his jersey. I looked down and saw we were here, I immediately hit him on WhatsApp and congratulated him and said, “Man, it’s amazing because we’re going to be there,” said Nurse, who also formerly coached the British national team. “I’m so happy. He was obviously a huge part of our championship team in Toronto. It seems like I’ve coached against him for almost his whole career because I was coaching a national team over there. It seemed like we were always playing Spain for something, like warm-up games or Euro Cup or whatever they were, qualifiers here and there, European Championships, even the Olympics.

“So, all the way through every level over there. It’s kind of cool to relate to almost, as a coach to go up and see him as a very young player and then be in this industry, get a chance to coach him, share a championship with him.”

Jeff Dowtin Jr. finished with 11 points, five rebounds and two assists in 14:20 Saturday night, in the reserve point guard’s first game since the Sixers converted his two-way deal to a standard contract for the rest of the season.

“Any time you get any type of deal, honestly, in the NBA, it’s exciting,” Dowtin said. “A chance to help the team play more games, get to the playoffs and contribute there as well any time you are given. So it’s definitely a great time for me. Motivation for sure, that hard work has paid off.”

Dowtin averaged 4.4 points, 2.4 assists, and 12.3 minutes in his first seven appearances. He made an impact off the bench in his limited minutes.

“You just have to be ready at any opportunity that you get,” he said. “You know, be prepared whenever you step on the court, be aggressive, make plays contribute to winning.”

The Sixers traveled to San Antonio after Saturday’s game before facing the Spurs at 7 p.m. Sunday at Frost Bank Center.

With a 19-58 record, San Antonio is one of the league’s worst teams. However, they have the presumptive rookie of the year in Victor Wembanyama. The 7-4, 209-pound power forward is averaging 21.1 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists in 68 games.

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The Sixers are looking to sweep the season series after previously beating San Antonio, 133-123, at the Wells Fargo Center on Jan. 22. On that occasion, Embiid finished with a franchise-record 70 points to go along with 18 rebounds, five assists, and just one turnover.

The performance marked the first time in NBA history that a player had registered at least 70 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists in a game.