Field Level Media
Mar 21, 2018
JJ Redick, Marco Belinelli, Dario Saric and Robert Covington scored 15 points apiece, and the Philadelphia 76ers cruised past the depleted Memphis Grizzlies 119-105 on a snowy and cold Wednesday night in Philadelphia.
The Sixers won their fourth in a row and reached the 40-win plateau for the first time since the 2010-11 season. Philadelphia needs two more wins to finish above .500 for the first time since the '04-05 campaign.
Joel Embiid scored 14 while Ben Simmons had 13 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for Philadelphia.
Simmons reached at least 10 points, five assists and five rebounds for the 13th straight game, the second such streak for the rookie this season. No other rookie had posted a streak longer than eight games since 1983. Simmons also scored in double figures for the 27th consecutive game.
Wayne Selden led the Grizzlies with 18 points, Deyonta Davis added 16 points and 11 rebounds, and JaMychal Green and Dillon Brooks contributed 14 points each. Mario Chalmers had 10.
The Grizzlies have dropped 16 consecutive road games.
The Sixers didn't relax to open the fourth quarter even with a 30-point advantage.
Deep reserve Richaun Holmes attacked the basket on consecutive possessions and received a huge ovation from the sparse crowd when he threw down a vicious dunk.
A 14-2 spurt to open the third quickly pushed the Sixers' advantage to 77-53. Another 7-1 run gave the Sixers a 30-point cushion at 84-54, and the rout was on with more than a whole quarter remaining. Philadelphia led 99-69 at the end of the third.
Philadelphia scored 41 points in the third, its fourth time this season pouring in at least 40 in a given quarter.
Redick knocked down a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer, extending the Sixers' lead to 58-44.
Memphis had gotten within 48-42 but the Sixers closed with a flurry anchored by Embiid and Simmons.
Embiid led all first-half scorers with 14 points and the Sixers finished with a 10-2 run to lead by 14 at the break.
--Field Level Media