Sixers beat the Pelicans, 121-120

Anthony Davis missed a free throw with under three seconds to play in the fourth quarter in Wednesday’s game between New Orleans and Philadelphia.

The Sixers got a nice, double-digit lead early, and then they let the Pelicans back in the game in the second quarter.

The Sixers got a nice, double-digit lead late, and then they let the Pelicans back in the game in the fourth quarter.

That fourth quarter featured a lot of fouls that shouldn’t have happened — a JJ Redick frustration foul that led to a four-point play, a Joel Embiid foul on an Anthony Davis three that gave the Pelicans a chance to take the game to overtime.

It was a game that was often frustrating, but the Sixers move to 13-7 with the win.

Joel Embiid had a huge first quarter for the Sixers, and he ended the night with 31 points and 18 rebounds. Ben Simmons showed a lot of aggressiveness, and the Pelicans defense seemed incapable of keeping him from getting to the bucket for most of the game as he finished with 22 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.

Landry Shamet set a new career-high with 15 points, and in the battle for minutes between Shamet and Furkan Korkmaz, Shamet may have landed a major blow, as Korkmaz played just five minutes in the first half.

Wilson Chandler is off the minutes restriction, which was good because Mike Muscala picked up some early fouls.

On the other end, Anthony Davis has a pretty slow night, finishing with 12 points and 17 boards, but Jrue Holiday had 30 and 10 assists, E’Twaun Moore had 30, Julius Randle had 22 and nine boards...basically, the non-Davis parts did really well and were a big reason why the Sixers struggled to close out New Orleans. That Davis stat line, without context, would have me expecting it was a Sixers blowout.

Want to see some highlights? Look at some highlights.

Of course, one thing that happened on Wednesday that wasn’t directly related to the game was the Markelle Fultz situation. The post-game thread isn’t the best place to discuss the issue in a nuanced way, but the basics: Markelle Fultz might want to be traded. That is...not the way you want this situation to play out.

How did it impact the team on the court? Fultz, in his stint as a bench piece after the Butler trade, was playing about 20 minutes per night before he was benched last game. On Wednesday, T.J. McConnell played...17 minutes. It makes sense that all of Fultz’s minutes went to McConnell since there’s not really another option on this current roster to play the point. Something that needs addressing? Yes?