Player grades: Dominick Barlow leads 76ers past Clippers to start trip

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Philadelphia 76ers began their road trip in Southern California on Monday night by facing the short-handed Los Angeles Clippers. While the Clippers have turned their season around, it was the second night of a back-to-back, and LA was missing star guard James Harden among others.

The Sixers took advantage of that as they jumped out to a 23-point lead as they went after the weary Clippers early and often. The big lead was sustained throughout the night and the Sixers were able to walk away with a 128-113 win and extend their win streak to four. Dominick Barlow had a career-high 26 points along with 16 rebounds for Philadelphia.

Tyrese Maxey had 29 points, five rebounds, and six assists, Joel Embiid had 24 points and five rebounds, Kelly Oubre Jr. had 15 points, and VJ Edgecombe added five points and seven assists. Quentin Grimes added 12 points off the bench.

Here are the player grades following the win:

Tyrese Maxey: A

The Clippers had nobody to defend Maxey in this one. He was on a heater from the jump as he knocked down his first four 3-pointers of the night while also getting to the line at a high rate. When he is playing at this level, there really is not a lot the opposition can do. Especially, with the Clippers being short-handed. Maxey didn’t have a great playmaking night, but when he was shooting the ball the way he was in this one, it wasn’t really needed. He was a big offensive hub in this one and the Sixers leaned on him.

VJ Edgecombe: C-plus

The rookie didn’t shoot the ball all that well in this one, but he was able to do a number of other things to stuff the stat sheet and impact the game in a positive way. He had some good moments defensively as he was in the right spots to help Philadelphia consistently get stops and force some tough looks for LA’s guards. It’s impressive to see Edgecombe continue to find a way to impact games even on nights he isn’t shooting the ball well.

Kelly Oubre Jr.: A-minus

The Sixers continue to get strong play out of Oubre. He helped space the floor in this one as he was able to knock down some open 3s, put the ball on the floor to get into the paint, make some plays with his passing, and make a difference on the defensive end of the floor. He did a little bit of everything in this one and gave the Sixers the ability to find a groove offensively due to his production on that end of the floor.

Dominick Barlow: A-plus

The difference Barlow made in this one was evident. He was relentlessly attacking the glass and gave the Sixers a big boost in the offensive rebounding department. He created extra possessions for Philadelphia while also finding easy baskets both in transition and on putbacks. He showed off all of his skills in this one as he was able to put the ball on the floor and get to the basket and finish through contact while also knocking down a 3-pointer on his way to a career night. He was really impactful for the Sixers in plenty of areas and was a huge part of Philadelphia’s success.

Joel Embiid: B-plus

It wasn’t a great night for Embiid in terms of his shooting and scoring, but he did so many good things in this one. His gravity created a lot of open looks for others as the Clippers had to send a ton of defenders his way to try and slow him down. The big fella consistently made the right decisions with the basketball and found open shooters on the perimeter and was able to get his teammates into a rhythm which led to the offense finding a groove. Once Embiid decided to start scoring, that is when he was able to get into a rhythm and dominate in that area.

Quentin Grimes: B-plus

Grimes’ night started with him throwing down a nasty slam on Clippers big man John Collins for a huge poster. He was also aggressive defensively and gave the Sixers a big boost on the glass as well. The energy he played with in this one was apparent and seemed to rub off on everybody. He then knocked down two 3-pointers which is a good sign for him as he finds his groove again.

Jared McCain: B-plus

The Sixers drew up a great play to get McCain open off a screen and he knocked down the 3 with confidence. The fact that the Sixers are getting McCain going and drawing up plays for him in this fashion is important going forward. He is getting confidence and rhythm back every night.

Adem Bona: B-minus

The initial stint for Bona was terrific. He ran the floor offensively, found open seams in the defense, and finished around the basket with authority. He was helpful on the glass and was able to make a presence for himself on the defensive end of the floor as well.

Trendon Watford: Incomplete

The Sixers turned to Watford late in the second quarter and he was a helpful piece out there with his ball-handling, size, and his playmaking. He only played eight meaningful minutes in this one before finishing out garbage time.

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Player grades: Dominick Barlow leads 76ers past Clippers to start trip