By: Kylan Watson

After beating the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night, the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Los Angeles Clippers in the first game of a five-game road-trip. Both teams traded blows in this contest but thanks to an offensive explosion from Dominick Barlow, Philly was able to beat the Clippers 128-115 and extend their win streak to four games.

The Sixers once again found their offensive rhythm early and often in this contest, Barlow scored 11 of his 26 points (career high) in the first quarter and grabbed 16 rebounds (10 of those were on the offensive end) in this game as well which kept multiple offensive possessions alive for Philly which allowed them to extend their lead late in this game. Barlow took full advantage of the increase of scoring opportunities in the absence of Paul George (serving a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s Anti-Drug policy). He has been an x-factor for them throughout this season and one of the best bench pieces Daryl Morey and Philly’s front office has found in the Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey era. Whenever a big play needed to be made in this game, he was the one the ball found whether that was a rebound or a pass that created a scoring opportunity for him. His dominance created double digit lead for Philly by half-time and gave them enough of a cushion to withstand a late LA rally to get the victory in this game.
Despite Barlow’s dominance the Clippers would not go away in this contest, they erased a 23-point lead to make this game closer in the third quarter. Kawhi Leonard (29 points) and Jordan Miller (19 points) combined for 48 of the Clippers’ 104 points, Philly did not have an answer for what Leonard was doing in this game. They continued to send a constant double team to him, and he still found a way to put points on the board. For example, late in the third quarter Philly sent a double team at Leonard as soon as he touched the ball and he dribbled out of it and got a poster dunk to bring some energy to the building. However, the Sixers were able to shut their teammates down and force enough turnovers to win this game and slow down the Clippers’ explosive offense.

Philly’s second unit really came alive in this game Quentin Grimes scored 14 points in this contest and he has really found himself since returning from an ankle injury. That has allowed the second unit to find itself again and combine that with Jared McCain’s resurgence since that game against Charlotte last week and the Sixers second unit looks like its old self again.

That offensive rhythm was key in helping seal this game for Philly along with an explosive fourth quarter from Maxey (29 points) and Embiid (24 points) who combined for 53 of the Sixers 128 points. LA had no answers for the two-man game that the Sixers implemented in the fourth quarter and if that scheme continues to work it creates multiple high-percentage scoring opportunities for Philly and adds another dimension to their offensive scheme.

Philly will now prepare to face the Golden State Warriors tomorrow night in the second half of their early week back-to-back. The Sixers will need to limit their turnovers, win the rebounding battle, stay connected to their defensive assignments, and cash in on the high-percentage scoring opportunities their ball movement creates. Implementing these things into their game plan tomorrow night will put them in great shape to win their 29^th game of the season and extend their win streak to five games.