Sixers-Clippers observations: Young guns help snap skid

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LOS ANGELES — Welcome back to Philadelphia. I mean, Los Angeles. It was hard to tell by how loud the fans for the opposing team were at the STAPLES Center. 

There were tussles, dunks and back-and-forth basketball in front of a divided crowd Monday night in the Sixers’ 109-105 win. 

• The Sixers started off hot in California. Early on, Robert Covington and Ben Simmons combined to outscore all of the Clippers 17-16. The Sixers dominated the first quarter, 36-28, as only Lou Williams was in a rhythm for the Clippers. 

• You could feel the tension brewing between Joel Embiid and Willie Reed less than two minutes into the second quarter, and it was no surprise things got chippy. Reed took exception to Embiid’s defense when he was called for a traveling violation. Embiid pointed at Reed and smiled it off, which didn’t exactly squash the issue. Quite the opposite, actually. 

On the next trip down the court, Reed pulled Embiid down by the shoulder as the Sixers’ center went up at the basket. Embiid hit the ground, bounced back up and got in Reed’s face (see video). The big men were separated and Reed was issued a Flagrant 1 foul.

• The Sixers pushed their lead up to 14 points five minutes into the second quarter. The Clippers kept chasing, though, and finished the half on a 9-2 run while the Sixers missed four shots and committed three turnovers. The Sixers led 55-53 at halftime, fueled by 19 points by Embiid. 

• The third was another problematic quarter for the Sixers, just like their last game against the Warriors. They squandered a nine-point lead with just over seven minutes to go and found themselves trailing after the Clippers went on a 12-2 spurt. Embiid scored just four points in the third. 

• This was the type of game that felt like it would come down to the buzzer. Embiid tied the game 100 apiece off a cutting layup from Simmons with 1:18 to play. Embiid tried to take the lead at the basket against Reed, who grabbed the rebound off the miss and this time drew the foul on Embiid. Reed gave the Clippers a 101-100 edge off a free throw, but Dario Saric found Covington for three on the other end. Simmons grabbed a Williams miss and drained both his free throws after getting fouled. Austin Rivers reacted with his own trey and it was a one-point game with 11.9 seconds remaining. Covington sealed the win with four free throws in the final 10 seconds. 

• Time to update Embiid’s career notables. Embiid played a career-high 36 minutes (what minute restrictions?), grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds, and scored a season-high 32 points. Covington also set a new career high with 31 points off only 12 field goal attempts. 

• Simmons continues to make double-doubles routine. He recorded his eighth of his rookie season with 22 points and 12 rebounds (see video). Simmons also put on a dunk spectacular throughout the night.

• Remember that note earlier about Williams being in a rhythm in the first? He more than doubled his scoring total in the fourth and finished the game with 31. Brett Brown couldn’t have been that surprised. Earlier in the day he said, "I’m a personal fan of Lou Williams. I just can’t believe he scores still like he scores. He really can score the ball." 

• JJ Redick, who played four seasons for the Clippers, faced his former team for the first time. He struggled on the familiar court, shooting 1 for 7 from three and 3 for 10 overall from the field (10 points). The Clippers thanked Redick with a tribute video in the first quarter. 

• Injury updates: Jerryd Bayless (left wrist), Markelle Fultz (right shoulder) and Nik Stauskas (right ankle) remained sidelined for the Sixers. Jahlil Okafor (upper respiratory) also was ruled out. Patrick Beverley (right knee), Danilo Gallinari (left glute) and Milos Teodosic (left foot) were out for the Clippers. 

• Fultz (not in uniform) joined the Sixers on the court as they warmed up out of halftime. The team may have found an unofficial addition to the coaching staff as the rookie was rebounding and assisting on three-point drills after shootaround earlier in the day.

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