Without Joel Embiid in the lineup, the Philadelphia 76ers suffered a 34-point loss on the road to the Portland Trail Blazers, going down 129-95.
The Blazers controlled the game from start to finish, leading by 29 points at the half, with the lead getting as big as 39 points in the third quarter as the Blazers took advantage of Embiid's absence, dominating inside, outscoring the 76ers 62-30 in the paint.
The Blazers outrebounded the 76ers 59 rebounds to 36.
Philly weren't much better on the other side of the floor, shooting 35.4% from the field, going ice cold from the three-point line, connecting on just 8-of-43 attempts from deep.
Led by 35 points from CJ McCollum on 13-of-18 from the field, the Blazers shot a scorching 59% from the floor, including 54.5% from the free throw line, with little resistance from the 76ers defence.
You could hardly tell they were playing their fourth game in seven days on the second night of a back-to-back, meanwhile the 76ers had three days off leading into the game.
Ben Simmons was aggressive with the ball in his hands, driving to the rim at every opportunity, kick-starting the Sixers transition game, finishing with 19 points on 7-of-12 from the field, with T.J. McConnell the only other teammate getting going on the offensive end. He tallied 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting, but it wasn't enough as Philly ended 2018 with their biggest loss of the season.
Jimmy Butler struggled all night, scoring just five points on 2-of-12 shooting, missing his first seven shots.
🎥 Ben Simmons led the #Sixers with 1️⃣9️⃣ points in their road loss to the #Blazers #HereTheyCome pic.twitter.com/HkaO6lHivM
— NBA Australia (@NBA_AU) December 31, 2018
Portland took it to Philly early, going on a 20-3 run in the first quarter, holding the 76ers scoreless over a four minute period, never letting them get closer than 25 points for the rest of the game.
Jusuf Nurkic took advantage of Embiid's absence, finishing with 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting, adding 11 boards, while Al Farouq-Aminu added 16 points and eight rebounds, while Damian Lillard added 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
