Obsevations after Maxey-McCain backcourt struggles in Sixers' loss to Nets  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Tyrese Maxey struggled all night long and the Sixers fell to a 114-106 defeat to the Nets on Tuesday at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Maxey had 13 points on 3-for-14 shooting, three rebounds, four steals, two assists and four turnovers as the Sixers dropped to 16-12 on the season. Brooklyn improved to 9-19.

Joel Embiid posted 27 points, six rebounds and four assists. Paul George recorded 19 points, four rebounds and four steals.

Michael Porter Jr. led the Nets with 28 points. 

The Sixers had three players sidelined by an illness in VJ Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes and Dominick Barlow. The team canceled its morning shootaround as a result.

Kelly Oubre Jr. (left knee LCL sprain) and Trendon Watford (left adductor strain) remained out. 

The Sixers will begin a five-game road trip Friday night in Chicago against the Bulls. Here are observations on their loss to the Nets:

Embiid suited up for his first game since the Sixers’ loss last Sunday to the Hawks. He’d missed the past two games with a “right knee injury management” designation in addition to an illness. 

Jared McCain started for the first time in his second season. Maxey, George and Jabari Walker rounded out the Sixers’ first five. 

Embiid had a smooth start offensively. He knocked down contested jumpers, sought out contact and seemed to believe he could score against whatever Brooklyn threw his way. 

The seven-time All-Star also looked to be fine on the conditioning front. Embiid played until the 2:45 mark of the first quarter and posted 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting and three rebounds in the period. 

Embiid had an injury scare just 25 seconds into the third quarter when Terance Mann bumped him as he jogged into the paint.

He grabbed his knee in apparent pain and eventually pointed toward the bench to request a sub. Andre Drummond entered and Embiid walked gingerly to the locker room.

About five minutes later, Embiid returned to the Sixers’ sideline. He checked back in with 6:49 left in the third quarter.

The Sixers took an 8-1 lead on a McCain fast-break layup, but the Nets responded with a run almost entirely about Porter’s shotmaking. His third three-pointer in quick succession gave Brooklyn a 12-10 edge.

On the other end, the Sixers’ outside shooters struggled. George and Walker air balled first-quarter three-point tries. The Sixers wound up shooting 40.7 percent from the floor and 25.9 percent beyond the arc.

Maxey went scoreless in the first quarter and missed his first six field goals. He was frustrated at times by Mann’s tight, physical defense and couldn’t hit the few open shots he managed to find. 

Maxey was obviously not thrilled about the officiating. Both he and Sixers head coach Nick Nurse appeared to have heated words with crew chief Courtney Kirkland during a stoppage near the end of the second quarter. 

The shorthanded Sixers’ guard rotation included little-used veterans Eric Gordon and Kyle Lowry. After Maxey was whistled for his second foul with 2:11 to go in the first quarter, Lowry checked in for the first home action of his 20th NBA season. Gordon (12 points on 4-for-8 shooting) made the Sixers’ first two long-distance jumpers. 

The vet-heavy Sixers played zone defense early in the second quarter against the youthful Nets and didn’t fare badly. However, Brooklyn hit the Sixers with another run in the second and Porter kept causing serious problems.

Porter began 7 for 9 from the floor and piled up 25 points in the first half. The Nets held a six-point edge at intermission. 

Maxey continued to come up empty.

He missed an open three early in the third quarter to fall to 1 for 10 from the field. Maxey then committed his fourth foul on a Egor Demin four-point play and the Nets’ advantage reached double digits. The Sixers had too many of those sort of sloppy mistakes on both sides of the ball.

Drummond (12 points, 13 rebounds) made three tip-ins early in the second half and stayed on the court once Embiid returned. Walker’s foul trouble presumably played a role in Nurse turning to a double-big frontcourt. Adem Bona shared the floor with Embiid, too.

The Sixers’ deficit swelled as high as 19 points. McCain shared Maxey’s offensive woes. He dipped to 1 for 9 from the floor early in the fourth quarter with a pair of missed lefty layup attempts. The starting backcourt of Maxey and McCain finished a ghastly 6 for 25, including several makes in quasi-garbage time. It’s very challenging to beat any team with that kind of backcourt shooting.

All of a sudden, the Sixers summoned a burst of late-game energy.

Maxey swiped a steal and coasted in for a layup. Bona slammed in an alley-oop assisted by Embiid. Two Embiid free throws cut the Sixers’ deficit to 99-90.

The Sixers couldn’t create any serious drama in the final minutes. They committed a slew of fouls, Maxey air balled a three and Brooklyn sealed the deal on a bad Sixers loss.