The Sixers’ long road is finally due to wind back to Philadelphia.
They wrapped up a 1-5 trip and dropped their fifth consecutive game Monday night, falling to a 112-99 loss to the Pelicans.
Justin Edwards and Jared Butler scored 19 points apiece for the 23-49 Sixers.
Rookie Pelicans center Yves Missi tallied 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting and nine rebounds. Karlo Matković scored 19 points off the bench and Elfrid Payton dished out 14 assists. Kelly Olynyk had 14 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
The Sixers had nine players sidelined by injuries. Quentin Grimes also rested on the second night of a back-to-back.
Here are observations on the Sixers’ defeat in New Orleans:
Edwards trending up beyond the arc
The Pelicans regularly beat the Sixers early in transition and did tons of damage inside. New Orleans posted the night’s first 16 points in the paint.
The Sixers’ offense also wasn’t sparkling. The team started 2 for 10 from the field, though Edwards kept on knocking down shots. He sunk three first-quarter three-pointers and scored 11 of the Sixers’ 23 points in the opening period.
Edwards has let jumpers fly his rookie year, rarely turning down open, in-rhythm looks. His results have been impressive lately, too.
Over the last five games, the lefty wing has gone 18 of 36 (50 percent) from long range. For the season, Edwards is up to 37.1 percent.
New faces in the mix
The Sixers rolled out their 48th starting lineup of the season. Butler, Ricky Council IV, Edwards, Chuma Okeke and Guerschon Yabusele opened the game.
The second unit included Adem Bona, who returned from a five-game absence with a left ankle sprain.
While slamming in a dunk in the second quarter, Bona took a hand to the eye from Matković. He exited the game but was deemed good to go for the second half. In 19 minutes, Bona finished with six points, seven rebounds, two steals and a block.
New Sixers 10-day contract signing Marcus Bagley made his NBA debut in the second quarter and hit a short push shot on his first attempt. Bagley was largely peripheral Monday, recording two points, two rebounds and a steal in 18 minutes.
Former Sixers two-way contract player Lester Quinones debuted for New Orleans and drilled a second-quarter three. For injury-riddled teams near the bottom of the standings like the Sixers and Pelicans, there’s seemingly a new face or two every game this time of year.
Not much comeback juice
Council and Yabusele each had frigid shooting starts. The pair combined to miss their first 10 field goals.
All of a sudden, just about every Sixers jumper began to fall. Yabusele made two straight triples in the third quarter. Council got a wide-open jumper off of a nice two-man action with Yabusele and canned it. An Edwards three capped a 15-2 run and gave the Sixers a 67-65 lead.
Okeke didn’t have a brilliant shooting night (4 for 9 from the floor, 2 for 6 from three-point range), but he again played a decent overall game and did a little bit of everything with 12 points, nine rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block. He recorded 20 offensive rebounds on the six-game trip.
The Sixers’ lead was short-lived, which was not shocking given the context — few first-choice rotation players available, wrapping up both a back-to-back and an extended road trip. The Pelicans regained control and built their lead to 23 points early in the fourth quarter.
The Sixers will now rest a day and then kick off a three-game homestand Wednesday against another team in the NBA draft lottery picture, the 15-56 Wizards.
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