Tyrese Maxey leaves game early with a back contusion as 76ers lose 119-102 to the Trail Blazers

Keith Pompey, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Mar 3, 2025

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PHILADELPHIA — It’s always something holding back the 76ers.

They were looking to build off Saturday’s unexpected victory over the Golden State Warriors. Instead, they went back to their losing ways, suffering a 119-102 setback to the Portland Trail Blazers.

The loss at the Wells Fargo Center dropped the Sixers to 21-39. It was their 10th loss in 11 games.

But this setback became less surprising as the day wore on.

That because Paul George (left groin tightness) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (illness) were both scratched from the game after being listed as questionable. Then Tyrese Maxey suffered a back contusion midway through the third quarter. The point guard laid on his back grimacing in pain underneath the basket after taking a hard fall on a missed layup. After getting up, Maxey headed straight to the locker room area to be evaluated and did not return.

And with a little over a minute left, Sixers rookie Justin Edwards left with what appeared a left ankle or foot injury.

That’s not a good sign for the Sixers, who are already without Kyle Lowry (right hip injury management) and three other players -- Joel Embiid (left knee swelling), Eric Gordon (right wrist surgery) and Jared McCain (left knee surgery) -- out for the season.

On this night, the Sixers played valiantly, but couldn’t overcome the missing bodies.

The Blazers turned an 11-point first-quarter deficit into a 15-point fourth-quarter in advantage. Even when the Sixers had the lead, the result never appeared in doubt for Portland. And it became obvious that any hope Philly had was lost when Maxey left the game with 6 minutes, 42 seconds left in the third quarter. At that time, Portland had a 74-68 lead.

Blazers’ Anfernee Simons finished with a game-high 34 points. Shaedon Sharpe added 20 points, a career-high 11 rebounds, and five assists. And Donovan Clingan had 13 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks.

Andre Drummond had his best game as a Sixer this season. The center finished with season-highs of 25 points and 18 rebounds. Edwards had 16 points, while Quentin Grimes added 14 points and nine assists after scoring a career-high 44 on Saturday vs. the Warriors.

Maxey had a tough shooting night before exiting with his back injury. The point guard had five points on 2-for-13 shooting. He’s totaled 10 points on 4 for 27 in the last two games after scoring 30 points on 12-for-32 shooting against the New York Knicks last week.

Drummond kept the Sixers competitive for a while.

He secured his second straight and fourth overall double-double of the season on a seven-foot hook shot with 2:38 remaining in the first half. The 6-foot-11, 279-pounder scored 10 second quarter points and had 16 points and 11 rebounds at intermission. In the first half, the 31-year-old scored on three alley-oops, a 3-pointer, a hook shot, a cutting dunk, and a floater.

But the Blazers outscored the Sixers, 35-20, in the third quarter to take a 91-81 advantage and never looked back.

Up Next

The Sixers will head to Minneapolis to face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday at the Target Center (8 p.m. ET, NBCSP).