By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia 76ers were unable to snap their six-game losing streak tonight, falling to the Denver Nuggets by a final score of 106-98. The Sixers led by nine after one, but Denver outscored them by 17 over the next three quarters to win their first road game since early November.
Philadelphia got strong efforts tonight from a number of players, most notably Sergio Rodriguez and Dario Saric. Rodriguez finished with 17 points and seven assists while Saric followed up a 21 point, 12 rebound effort with 17 points and eight rebounds tonight. Ersan Ilyasova added 17 of his own while Joel Embiid contributed with 16, but struggled mightily, shooting 5-15 from the floor. He did block a career-high five shots, though. Nik Stauskas' slump continued as he hit just one of his seven shots.
Meanwhile, Denver had three players score 20+, led by Danillo Gallinari, who scored 24 points. Will Barton and rookie Jamal Murray each scored 22 with Murray sinking eight of his 12 shots. He had 17 of his 22 in the first half. The Nuggets went to the line 11 more times than the Sixers, hitting 26 of 34 from the stripe while also outscoring Philadelphia on the fast break, 21-7.
The Sixers got out to a 27-18 lead after one, forcing nine Denver turnovers in the process. In the second quarter, Philadelphia got a nice boost from Dario Saric and Richaun Holmes off the bench, but it was the starting backcourt of Sergio Rodriguez and Gerald Henderson that led the way in the first half with 19 points combined on 7-for-13 shooting. Despite their success, though, Denver cut a 10-point Sixer lead to two thanks to a surge from rookie Jamal Murray and an 11-3 Nuggets run to end the half. After two, Philadelphia held a 53-51 lead.
Saric, after two quarters, scored 10 points to go along with eight boards. Gerald Henderson also contributed with 10 while Sergio Rodriguez, Joel Embiid and Ersan Ilyasova each had nine. Denver's offense was powered by Western Conference Rookie of the Month Jamal Murray with 17 points and Danillo Gallinari with 13.
In the third, Denver took their first lead, 64-63, with just under four minutes to play in the quarter. That was quickly erased by a Saric triple, putting Philadelphia back up by two. Unfortunately, the Sixers had turnover issues and sent Denver to the line, so the Nuggets were able to take a 74-70 lead after three quarters. They continued their run into the fourth as Jamal Murray hit a three to put them up 79-70 as part of a 9-0 spurt with 10:59 remaining in the game. Joel Embiid ended an 11-0 Denver run with a bucket, cutting the lead to nine with just under nine minutes left in the game. Philadelphia went on a 9-2 run of their own in the fourth, capped off by back-to-back triples from Rodriguez and Stauskas to trim the Denver lead to four, 91-87.
Darrell Arthur hit a three with just over two minutes to go in the fourth, extending the Nuggets lead back up to eight, 96-88. With Denver leading 100-96 and under a minute to play, Will Barton knocked down a triple as the shot clock expired to increase the Nugget advantage to seven. Joel Embiid would hit a long two, making it a 103-98 game, but they wouldn't get any closer.
Up Next:
The Sixers head to Memphis for the second half of a back-to-back on Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m. Philadelphia will be without Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor with Embiid not cleared to play in back-to-backs and Okafor skipping the trip with gastroenteritis.
