Sixers vs. Timberwolves takeaways: Marcus Morris Sr. shows he can contribute, Tyrese Maxey’s shooting struggles without Joel Embiid

Tobias Harris has a knack for stepping up when the 76ers are undermanned. Marcus Morris Sr. finally showed that he can be depended upon. But Tyrese Maxey must shoot better in games without reigning MVP Joel Embiid.

Those three things stood out in Wednesday’s 112-99 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center.

Here are the takeaways:

A season ago, Harris kept the Sixers competitive during a stretch without Embiid, James Harden, and Maxey. So it wasn’t surprising that he scored nine second-quarter points to keep the Sixers competitive while Embiid missed the game with left-hip soreness.

They trailed by as many as 19 points in the first quarter. But his pair of foul shots pulled the Sixers within three points (44-41) with 4 minutes, 12 seconds remaining in the half.

It seemed like Harris’ play provided a lift for De’Anthony Melton, who scored all 13 of his points in the second quarter.

Harris finished the game with 15 points and six rebounds.

» READ MORE: Sixers fall to Minnesota Timberwolves while playing without Joel Embiid

Morris struggled in his first seven games in a Sixers uniform after being acquired along with Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, KJ Martin, and draft picks in the Nov. 1 trade from the Los Angeles Clippers that sent Harden and P.J. Tucker to L.A.

But with Embiid out, Morris got the start at center. He rewarded Sixers coach Nick Nurse with his best performance of the season.

The North Philly native finished with 16 points on 6-for-12 shooting — including making 3 of 5 three-pointers — along with four rebounds, two assists, and two blocks in 16 minutes.

This performance came after the 34-year-old scored just eight points on 3-for-10 shooting — including making 1 of 5 three-pointers — in seven games. He averaged 1.0 rebound and 7.1 minutes in that time frame.

It’s almost unfair to point out the poor shooting because Embiid missed the game with left hip soreness. It was also the second night of a grueling back-to-back. But the Sixers didn’t help themselves by shooting so poorly. They shot 39.1% from the field, including 7-of-32 on three-pointers.

Maxey struggled mightily without Embiid on the floor. The standout point guard finished with a season-low 16 points on 7-of-19 shooting. He missed all five of his three-point attempts.

With Embiid out, he needs to score anywhere from 27 to 30 points for the Sixers to remain competitive. And this didn’t come close to happening against the Timberwolves.

Maxey is still learning how to handle the point-guard role. But he’s not a point guard even though he done a nice job trying to fill the role. The problem is it is taking away from the kind of player he is. The league is starting to figure him out, so now he has to adjust.

Melton shot 3-of-11 overall, while going 1-for-5 on threes. Hard to win when your starting backcourt combines to shoot 10-for-30.

» READ MORE: Sixers’ Kelly Oubre Jr. could return from his rib injury in a week

The Sixers (10-5) dropped to fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings after suffered their fourth loss in six games. However, they played with a competitive spirit against the Western Conference’s first-place Timberwolves (11-3). That enabled them to pull within three points in the second quarter, after trailing by 19 in the first quarter.

It’s easy to point out that the Sixers dropped to 3-5 against teams currently with winning records. Some might argue even that record is a bit misleading, considering they beat a Phoenix Suns squad on Nov. 4 without All-Star guards Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.

But the Sixers’ setback to the Timberwolves (11-3) was impressive from a competitive standpoint despite shooting poorly and being overmatched. Their effort could be something they try to improve on.