Nuggets guard Ty Lawson provided one of the very few highlights in the Sixers’ ugly 99-85 road win in Denver, breaking Isaiah Canaan’s ankles with a slick crossover and finding J.J. Hickson for an easy hoop.
In a battle of tanking bottom-dwellers, it was Philly who came out on top (something the front-office likely winced at.)
Robert Covington (25 points) and Nerlens Noel (14 points, 15 boards and four blocks) led the way for the Sixers.
Per the Denver Post:
“There’s some basketball icons that are rolling over in their grave right now,” Nuggets interim coach Melvin Hunt said. “From Philadelphia all the way to Denver.”
In lottery terms, the Nuggets are essentially only in “competition” with the Detroit Pistons and Sacramento Kings for the league’s sixth- to eighth-worst records. That’s it. All other teams on either side of that are far enough away to predict there won’t be movement there.
The Nuggets still have games against some lottery-bound teams — the Los Angeles Lakers, Kings and two against the Utah Jazz, starting Friday. But Utah, with a core it likes, is trying to win, and the Jazz is playing well of late.
