Jerami Grant leads Portland Trail Blazers over Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers went into tonight’s game without their top 2 players, MVP candidate Joel Embiid and budding star Tyrese Maxey. Jerami Grant and the Portland Trail Blazers took care of business, defeating the 76ers 130-104 at the Moda Center.

The Portland Trailblazers were led by Jerami Grant, who scored 27 points on 54% shooting. Malcolm Brogdon had a fantastic game too, scoring 24 points on 71% shooting while also grabbing 5 rebounds and dishing out 9 assists. Both players have been playing well this season and with Portland being a rebuilding team, they may look to trade away one or both in exchange for more assets, whether that’s draft capital or young players. Speaking of young players, rookie Scoot Henderson had a great night, scoring 22 points off the bench on 56% shooting while also getting 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.

On the 76ers side, Kelly Oubre led the team in scoring with 25 points on 55% shooting. Patrick Beverley started with Maxey out and he finished with 14 points and 5 assists. Paul Reed replaced the injured Joel Embiid in the starting lineup, and he ended the game with a stat line of 11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. Tobias Harris struggled tonight, only scoring 9 points on 9 shot attempts.

For Portland, this win doesn’t move the needle much in terms of the standings, as they still sit at the 14th seed with a record of 14-33. They are 4-6 over their last 10 games but more importantly, their first-round pick Scoot Henderson looked good tonight. They will look to continue developing their core of Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons, and Deandre Ayton, and their next chance of seeing them in action will be on Wednesday night against the Milwaukee Bucks.

On the other hand, this loss drops the Philadelphia 76ers to 29-16. They are 3rd in the Eastern Conference with the red-hot New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers right behind them. The 76ers are on a 3 game losing streak and will look to get back in the win column tomorrow night against the Golden State Warriors.