Entering the contest without their superstar big man (Embiid was out due to knee treatment/load management), the Sixers came out looking super flat against a Memphis Grizzlies squad that was seeing last year’s Rookie of the Year winner, Ja Morant, return to the lineup after missing a couple of games. Key starters Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris started off the game looking extremely sluggish, and it set Philly up for a heroic, but ultimately failed comeback.
After falling behind by as many as 14 points in the second half, early Sixth Man of the Year candidate Shake Milton sparked a relatively promising comeback.