3 observations after Sixers’ skid grows another game on 2-point Paul George night

3 observations after Sixers’ skid grows another game on 2-point Paul George night originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

NEW YORK —The Sixers’ skid will linger through the All-Star break.

Their losing streak reached five games Wednesday night at Barclays Center with a 100-96 defeat to the Nets.

Both the Sixers and Brooklyn moved to 20-34.

Kelly Oubre Jr. and Quentin Grimes each scored a season-high 30 points. D’Angelo Russell was the Nets’ top scorer with 22 points.

The Sixers were without the following players:

• Tyrese Maxey (right knee contusion)

• Joel Embiid (left knee injury management)

• Kyle Lowry (right hip injury management)

• Eric Gordon (right wrist sprain)

• Jared McCain (left lateral meniscus surgery)

First up for the Sixers after the All-Star break will be a Feb. 20 matchup with the Celtics. Here are observations on their latest loss:

A 2-point George night as the lone star

New Sixers Jared Butler and Grimes each started. As he had in the second half of the Sixers’ defeat Tuesday to the Raptors, Justin Edwards opened on the bench.

The Sixers fell behind 6-0, but they immediately answered with an 11-2 run. The team took its first lead when Paul George drove and kicked the ball out to Butler, who made the “extra” pass to assist a Grimes corner three-pointer. Grimes also flashed his open-floor pop a bit, throwing down two first-quarter dunks.

The Nets’ first quarter was all about Russell. He scored 14 of Brooklyn’s first 18 points and began 5 for 5 from the floor. While Russell hit some tough shots, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse demonstrated his displeasure with a few defensive breakdowns in the first quarter.

For the Sixers’ offense, George was exceedingly peripheral. He was scoreless in the first half and only attempted three long-range shots.

George’s stat line for the game was two points on 1-for-7 shooting, six rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals.

As a team, the Sixers often struggled to create separation off the dribble, trouble the Nets with any sort of surprising movement, or generate remotely easy shots in the half court.

Obviously, on nights when he’s the sole star, George must be far, far more prominent and productive. It’s fine to dish the ball when opponents blitz him, but the Sixers still need George to put meaningful pressure on defenses outside of drawing attention.

Nice work by Edwards off the bench

After starting 4 for 23 from three-point range against Toronto, the Sixers dipped to 3 for 15 in Brooklyn on a long-distance Andre Drummond miss. Nurse called timeout and subbed Adem Bona in. A Drummond three with about 15 seconds left on the shot clock would not qualify as a look the Sixers are actively seeking out.

Without Embiid, both Drummond and Bona rejoined the Sixers’ rotation. So did Jeff Dowtin Jr., who got 15 minutes as a backup point guard.

Edwards was the Sixers’ best player off the bench.

Following nine consecutive starts, the rookie wasn’t shaken at all by shifting to the second unit. He snatched rebounds, swiped steals and confidently took the right shots. The 21-year-old finished the evening with 13 points, five boards, three assists and three steals. He helped the Sixers narrow their deficit to 53-49 at halftime.

Same story as the season

The Sixers started the second half well and momentarily went ahead on a Grimes triple.

Brooklyn then scored the next eight points, including a Cam Johnson dunk created by a backdoor cut behind Oubre. The Sixers can reasonably chalk a ton of their problems up to injuries this year, but there’s also been a bunch of those costly lapses in focus.

Russell drained a second-chance three late in the third quarter and Brooklyn built a double-digit lead entering the fourth.

The Sixers faced a 15-point deficit at one stage in the fourth, but Oubre’s excellent quarter spurred a comeback push. He swished a three that cut the Nets’ advantage to 91-85.

The Nets were very shaky late and the Sixers played effective full-court defense. Grimes got a steal in the backcourt and made a driving layup to trim Brooklyn’s lead to four points in the final minute.

However, the Sixers’ fourth-quarter situation Wednesday felt like a microcosm of their severely disappointing, injury-cursed season so far: Occasional bright spots and spurts of momentum overshadowed by the reality that there’s so much ground to make up and so little margin for error.