The Sixers had a chance to prove themselves without their stars. They hit rock bottom instead.

So much for the possibility — the wild notion, as it turned out — that the 76ers might have gained momentum from beating the Charlotte Hornets and Dallas Mavericks in consecutive games. Those wins could have served as a springboard to fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

Facing the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, the Sixers confronted harsh realities about their roster, which has been depleted by injuries. Their loss at the Barclays Center wasn’t a surprise, but it was confirmation of what life is like when Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey are both sidelined.

Unfortunately for the Sixers, rock bottom came Wednesday in a 115-109 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies at the Wells Fargo Center. Any semblance of momentum they gained vanished in the South Philly air.

The Sixers (35-27) look like a lost team, especially without their best two players. The struggling Nets (25-37) and Grizzlies (22-41) — who were equally undermanned — were supposed to provide Sixers victories no matter who played.

In addition to Embiid and Maxey’s absence, the Sixers were without Kyle Lowry (rest), De’Anthony Melton (spine injury), and Robert Covington (left knee bone bruise). Meanwhile, the Grizzlies were without Ja Morant (right shoulder surgery), Derrick Rose (right groin, lower back), Marcus Smart (right ring finger tear), and Ziaire Williams (right lower back/hip flexor strain).

So the Sixers were exposed on Wednesday. And things don’t get any easier. Of the Sixers’ remaining 19 games, there are not many that look like clear wins. And it’s not unthinkable that the Eastern Conference’s seventh-place team gets swept in the next four games, especially if Maxey remains sidelined.

» READ MORE: Kyle Lowry will consider his legacy when he’s done playing, not a moment sooner: ‘I’ll reflect on it once I retire’

He missed the last two games with a mild concussion. While there’s no timeline for his return, Maxey has to clear a five-step protocol before being cleared to play. Meanwhile, Embiid is expected to return from left knee surgery in late March.

But his teammates will entertain the Western Conference’s fifth-place New Orleans Pelicans on Friday. Then the Sixers will travel to New York to face the East’s fifth-place Knicks in a two-game series on Sunday and Tuesday. Afterward, the Sixers travel to Milwaukee to face the East’s second-place Bucks on March 14.

The Knicks (36-26) are also banged up with Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson battling injuries. But it’s going to be tough for the Sixers, because New York is also trying to survive in the crowded East.

The Pelicans (37-25) will be a tough matchup. The same for the Bucks (41-22), who defeated the Sixers by 21 points on Feb. 25 at the Wells Fargo Center.

No matter the opponent, Philly must find a way to play better than its two most recent fourth-quarter performances. The Sixers were outscored by 28-15 down the stretch against the Nets in their 112-107 loss. Against Memphis, they blew a 12-point fourth-quarter lead and were outscored by 34-16 in the final frame.

“I’m just going to say this, we can learn a lot from tonight,” Kelly Oubre Jr. said. “We all knew that Memphis is missing a lot of guys, and so are we. It was a real testament of hard work beats talent if talent doesn’t work hard. I just think that was the whole gist of the game tonight.”

But it was also the teams’ best available players meeting the moment.

Jaren Jackson Jr. had game highs of 30 points and six blocks to go with 11 rebounds as he led the Grizzlies to victory. Meanwhile, Tobias Harris had eight points on 3-for-12 shooting. The power forward was held to two points on 1-for-3 shooting in the fourth quarter. Buddy Hield (15 points) and Cam Payne (16) each struggled through 6-of-17 shooting nights, and Oubre had 25 points on 7-of-21 shooting. As a team, the Sixers shot 38.2% from the field.

The Sixers missed the playmaking ability of Lowry and Maxey on the offensive end.

“We come out here,” Harris said. “We don’t have Kyle. We don’t have Tyrese. Now, we’re scrambling. Half the time we don’t even know what we’re in on offense. So that’s tough as well on just organization. I mean, [that] hurt us tonight as well.”

Their struggles go beyond their last two games, however. The Sixers have lost 14 of their last 20 contests.

» READ MORE: Murphy: With Tyrese Maxey’s concussion, the Sixers are creeping closer to the point of no return

And as things currently stand, only Embiid and Paul Reed have standard contracts beyond this season. So the Sixers can only hope their roster construction, largely made up of expiring contracts, doesn’t come back to bite them. They can only hope the mounting losses won’t trigger players into putting personal goals ahead of team needs.

Players facing free agency could start to question their roles and whether they are showcasing their skills enough to land a lucrative contract with another team this summer. If this season goes south before Embiid returns, it’s not a stretch to think some players will start to check out. Meanwhile, injured players could lack motivation to rush back and potentially suffer another setback.

All the momentum the Sixers had is gone. Now they’re in jeopardy of falling further apart.