Sixers vs. Nuggets takeaways: Nikola Jokić praises Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey must continue to cook

DENVER – Nikola Jokić still has the utmost respect for Joel Embiid.

The undermanned 76ers walked away with confidence even though the Denver Nuggets played well in spurts and were victorious in the end. And the Sixers need to keep riding Tyrese Maxey when he’s cooking.

Those three things stood out in their 116-111 loss to the Nuggets Monday night at Ball Arena.

This matchup was supposed to pit Sixers center Joel Embiid against Denver center Jokić in an MVP showdown. However, Embiid was ruled out of the game Monday morning with tightness in his right calf.

Jokić, who finished with 25 points, 17 rebounds, 12 assists and two blocks, said Embiid’s absence didn’t change his approach to the game. But he shared how he feels about Embiid.

“I think he’s a great player,” Jokić said. “I think he’s gonna be remembered as one of the most dominant players in the league. The guy’s a beast and he’s so talented. He can affect in many ways on the floor. He can post up; he can face up; he can shoot threes. He can defend really well. He can in some situations guard one through five.

“So he’s really, I think he’s a really, really good player.”

The Sixers (49-26) were at a huge disadvantage without Embiid and James Harden (left Achilles soreness). And if we’re being truthful, the Nuggets (51-23) were toying with the Sixers at times. They would play hard for several possessions to build a comfortable lead. Then they would take a few possessions off, allowing Philly back into the game.

That almost cost Denver the game, as the Sixers bench players pulled the team within three points (114-111) on Montrezl Harrell’s dunk with 28.9 seconds left before the Nuggets closed out the game.

» READ MORE: For Sixers coach Doc Rivers and Joel Embiid, it’s all about being healthy for NBA playoffs

“One thing we can take from this is how deep we are,” Maxey said. “Guys like [Danuel House Jr.], who hasn’t played in a couple games, comes in and contributes. [Paul] Reed had a hell of a game. De’Anthony [Melton] started. The list goes on and on. You know what I mean? So, I think that’s one thing that we can take from this.”

Reed did play well, scoring 16 points on 7-for-7 shooting. The backup center also had nine rebounds, two steals and a block.

But a lot of the Sixers’ comeback was a result of the Nuggets going through the motions.

The Sixers have a bad habit of not sticking with the hot hand.

We’ve seen it multiple times with Tobias Harris. The forward would put up gaudy numbers in the first only to not touch the ball after intermission.

A similar thing happened to Maxey against the Nuggets.

The third-year guard was unstoppable in the second quarter, scoring 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting.

“They were switching everything, and we were trying to find the right matchup for Tyrese,” coach Doc Rivers said of the second quarter. “We told him once we got that matchup, attack the paint and find guys and find the basket. I thought he did both.”

As a result, he went into intermission with 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting.

» READ MORE: Sixers’ Joel Embiid touts center position, James Harden remains sidelined with Achilles soreness

But Maxey had a huge drop off in the third quarter, scoring two points on 1-for-4 shooting. Then he made his only shot attempt in the fourth quarter while finishing with 29 points.

He was asked if the Nuggets did anything different in the secong half to slow him down a little bit.

“I think I shot like five times in the second half,” he said. “But once I found certain matchups, I knew I could space the floor. I felt like the floor was kind of open, but they started doubling or like firing off some guys. So I just had to move it.”

But Sixers teammates should have found a way to make sure the ball got back in his hands.

Best performance: This goes to Jokić, who posted his 29th triple-double of the season. This is Jokic’s first career game with at least 25 points, 17 rebounds, 12 assists and two blocks. He’s also the first player in the NBA this season to do so.

Worst performance: P.J. Tucker gets this one. The Sixers power forward failed to score after missing both of his shot attempts. He also failed to grab a rebound, record an assist, get a steal or block a shot in 22 minutes, 35 seconds of action. Tucker was a game-worst minus 23.

Best defensive performance: Reed gets this one. He had two steals and blocked a shot.

Worst statistic: This goes to the Sixers three-point shooting. They made just 26.7% of their three-pointers.

Best statistic: This goes the Nuggets for 14 dunks.

Worst of the Worst: The Sixers are losing ground on Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics in regards to contending for the Eastern Conference regular-season title. The loss dropped the third-place Sixers five games behind the first-place Bucks and three behind the second-place Celtics with seven games left.