Sixers-Hawks takeaways: Struggling down the stretch; Kelly Oubre Jr. must readjust to coming off bench

ATLANTA – The 76ers need to do a better job of producing in the clutch.

They also need to remain poised and realize this is a long season. And Kelly Oubre Jr. needs to readjust to coming off the bench.

Those three things stood in Wednesday’s 139-132 overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks at the State Farm Arena.

The Sixers (23-13) fought hard despite extending their losing streak to season-worst three games. However, they weren’t able to make clutch plays down the stretch.

With the game tied at 125, Tyrese Maxey had an 11-foot floater blocked by Hawks guard Trae Young with 1.5 seconds left.

The Sixers had a three-point cushion with 2 minutes, 31 seconds left in overtime. However, they were outscored 10-0 the rest of the way.

“We had some real opportunities there,” said coach Nick Nurse. “We had a three-point lead with [1:52] to go. Really good execution, a wide-open three (by Nic Batum), maybe puts the game away as well.

“And then just kind of had to watch it parade to the free throw line in the last minute.”

The Hawks went 6-for-6 from the foul line in the last 1:07 to play.

But it was a wide-open three-pointer by Jalen Johnson that was a momentum killer. It gave Atlanta a 135-132 lead with 40 seconds left. The Sixers still had a chance to win. But Tobias Harris had his driving finger roll blocked on the ensuing possession.

Then after Johnson added a pair of free throws, Oubre had a layup blocked with 4.4 seconds remaining. The Sixers ended up missing their final five shots and committed a critical turnover.

“All of those little plays add up,” Harris said. “Some of the fouls that we committed, those add up. We missed shots including myself that were there in overtime, they could shift the game, turnover. So all of those things add up.”

The Sixers aren’t about to panic.

Never mind, their losing streak and dropping to 2-7 in games with Joel Embiid.

“We will turn this around,” Batum said.

So what gives him the confidence to say that?

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“Every team in the NBA season you get that stretch when the ball doesn’t bounce your way,” he said. “It doesn’t mean you are not a good team or we are a bad team. Every team goes through that stretch.

“We just have to find a way to make sure it’s not too long.”

Batum said it’s still a long season, and he’s right with 46 games remaining. Meanwhile, Maxey believes focusing on winning is the best way to turn things around.

“The last two games before this one, I don’t think we played hard,” Maxey added. “You know we didn’t play as hard as we could have. We kind of just laid down and let two beatable teams just come into our house and take a game from us.

“Tonight, guys fought. From one to how many guys we have, fought on defense, fought on offense, and was extremely aggressive … So we got to go in there and keep being ourselves.”

Oubre averaged 13.7 points and shot 41.7% from the three-point line while starting the nine games heading into Wednesday.

However, Oubre went to the bench after De’Anthony Melton returned from a back injury. Oubre responded with one of his worst performances of the season.

He had seven points on 3-for-11 shooting, including going 0-for-3 on three-pointers, in 31 minutes, 45 seconds of action.

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“My role changes a lot,” Oubre said. “It’s really hard to adjust like that. You know just starting to find a groove and then coming off the bench, this game is tough.

“And my foot was kind of bothering me. I couldn’t really break it in and get loose within the minutes I was given. But I was just blessed to be on the court. I just got to figure it out, it’s tough but … finding a rhythm, not forcing it.”

In regards to his foot, Oubre said the doctor looked at it.

“I don’t know what it is,” he added. “But it’s like tendinitis — I should be alright.”