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Fansided

Philadelphia 76ers allowing Blake Griffin to score 50 points brings frustration

By Dan Parzych

DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 23: Blake Griffin #23 of the Detroit Pistons drives to the basket in the second half while playing the Philadelphia 76ers at Little Caesars Arena on October 23, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 23: Blake Griffin #23 of the Detroit Pistons drives to the basket in the second half while playing the Philadelphia 76ers at Little Caesars Arena on October 23, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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The Philadelphia 76ers finished on the losing end of Tuesday’s game against the Detroit Pistons, in a game that saw Blake Griffin go for 50 points.

In the first of back-to-back games, the Philadelphia 76ers knew they were going to be in for quite the battle on Tuesday when facing Blake Griffin and the undefeated Detroit Pistons, especially with Ben Simmons taking the night off as a result of a back injury.

For the most part, the Sixers deserve a ton of credit since guys like Joel Embiid (33 points with 11 rebounds and seven assists) and J.J. Redick (30 points with six rebounds and six assists) stepped up in a big way.

But at the end of the day, these strong performances still weren’t good enough for Philadelphia to hang on for the win after they fell to Detroit in overtime 133-132, with Griffin leading the way by setting a career-high of 50 points.

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To say Griffin was shooting lights out for the Pistons during Tuesday’s win would be a huge understatement since no matter how hard the Sixers tried to stop the star forward, they simply couldn’t manage to do so.

Whether it was Griffin connecting on 20-of-35 shots or simply the fact that he finished with 14 rebounds and six assists as well, Philadelphia just couldn’t seem to figure out a solution to stopping the former No. 1 pick.

Even in the final seconds of overtime when the Sixers were up two points and just needed to record one stop, they seemed to have a good idea that Griffin would attempt to drive towards the basket to tie up the game, which was exactly the case.

However, instead of tying up the game to play another overtime, Griffin was fouled by Robert Covington on the play in what seemed like a panic move to prevent him from scoring, which he did anyway. And with Griffin converting what turned out to be the game-winning free throw, Philadelphia would go on to lose the game by one point.

Yes, it’s a long NBA season, and it’s difficult to make a big deal over one game since the Sixers should continue being a top contender in the Eastern Conference, but this mindset isn’t going to take away any of the frustration from how this game turned out.

No matter how great of a player Griffin is, Philadelphia knew he was going to be a key factor for Detroit, and the team should have done a much better job at putting together a necessary game plan to keep in check.

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As for Wednesday’s meeting with the Milwaukee Bucks, one can only imagine what could be in store for Giannis Antetokounmpo if the Sixers allowed Griffin to have the kind of performance he did. At least with a full day to recover, here’s to hoping that Brett Brown and company have a better strategy for the Greek Freak, or the night could end in frustration once again.