Sometimes when (checks notes) Jalen Green gets going, you just can’t do anything about it.

The Sixers fell 122-115 in overtime to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night behind a 41-point performance from Jalen Green.

After a slow start, Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers with 39 points, shooting 14 of 34 from the field – 30 of those points coming in the second half. He also finished with nine assists.

Jared McCain had another bad night from deep. He didn’t make a three and finished with 15 points on 6-for-19 shooting. Guerschon Yabusele scored 22 points on 7-for-12 shooting.

If the situation were a little more stable, this could be seen as a hard-fought loss, but there is simply no room for that anymore.

In addition to the injured stars, Caleb Martin was ruled out of the game due to upper back pain.

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.

First quarter

• It was a typical start for the Sixers as they opened the game shooting 3-of-10 from the field and missed their first four threes of the game. Andre Drummond, included in the starting lineup, had a better start compared to what he has shown so far. He grabbed a few offensive rebounds and threw a nice skip pass to the corner for a Yabusele three.
• Meanwhile, for Houston, it took only half the quarter for Jalen Green to reach double figures as he had 18 in the opening quarter. The Sixers’ effort level at the start looked better than Sunday’s, but Maxey still allowed him to get a wide-open dunk after falling asleep on the baseline.
• Kelly Oubre Jr. was the Sixers’ leading scorer in both points and efficiency in the first. That’s only concerning considering he hasn’t hit a three-pointer since last Friday. He had nine in the first on 4-of-8 shooting. The Sixers thought they had cut the lead to eight, but Fred VanVleet hit a half-court shot to make it an 11-point game after the first.

Second quarter

• Ricky Council IV checked in early in the second and put some life back in the building after a put-back dunk and an offensive foul on Steven Adams. McCain followed that hustle and chased Reed Sheppard all the way down after turning him to contest the fast break layup and force a miss. McCain closed that play by circling the paint and scooping up a layup in traffic.

• The Sixers were able to build on that stretch. They kept the Rockets from scoring a field goal for three minutes midway through the quarter. Maxey’s shot quality improved as he got his teammates involved. He found a roaming Yabusele on the wing and KJ Martin around a few times, and that helped open things up for him.
• Houston calling a timeout helped them regroup and stem the flow of the Sixers offensively. Even with Maxey’s piece up the middle, he had a rough night at the rim, blocking a number of layups. The Sixers entered the half trailing by four.

Third quarter

• The third quarter struggles continued, at least defensively for the Sixers, as the Rockets opened the half shooting 4-of-5 from the field and scoring on six of their first eight trips down the floor. They really didn’t make any adjustments to Green, who was able to take Maxey off the dribble quite easily.
• The Sixers were able to make a number of stops and prevent Houston from making an extended run. Drummond started that by deflecting a pass on the perimeter and creating a fast break for himself. He also continued to fight very hard on the offensive glass, probably his best performance of the season. It helped that Maxey also came from deep. He made three triples in the third after just one in the first half.
• Just like in the first half, Council provided a big burst of energy when he checked back in. He took a (perhaps unwise) step back three to tie the game, and put away a steal that set the Sixers free. throws and the lead on the next possession. It was a short-lived lead, however, as Yabusele went 1-of-4 from the line on the next two possessions. A corner three from Aaron Holiday gave the Rockets a six-point lead to end the third.

Fourth quarter

• The Sixers made a lot of good plays to start the fourth, but couldn’t string them together to close the lead. Council had a chase block and some hard-fought offensive rebounds, Maxey had a very difficult finish at the rim, but each time Houston had an answer.

• Maxey had his most consistent stretch yet, knocking down three baskets in a row, but the Sixers still couldn’t get to the other end with the stops. Besides the height and athleticism advantage, it felt like every loose ball fell into the Rockets’ lap early in the fourth.
• After cutting the lead to four, the Sixers looked pretty dead in the water by turning it over on their next two possessions. After falling to eight, they fought back with a Council three and a Yabu layup to give themselves a chance at three with 21.5 seconds left. Maxey made a rushed three in an attempt to draw a foul, but he succeeded. With 11.1 seconds left, Houston went isolated to Sengun on Drummond, but KJ Martin came over and blocked the jump shot attempt, sending it into OT.

Overtime

• It seems like the Sixers offense ran out of gas just trying to get to this point. After Yabusele hit a corner three to start the game, the Sixers were held scoreless on their next five possessions, sinking them.
• The Sixers will hit the road again after the holidays, as their next game is Saturday in Detroit. They will take on Tobias Harris and the Pistons at 7:00 PM ET.