PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia 76ers came out flat early against the Los Angeles Clippers and it cost them.

The Clippers raced out to a 19-point lead in the first quarter shooting 5-for-8 from deep and 60% from the floor overall while Philadelphia couldn't match their energy. LA then did it again in the third quarter to build a lead as large as 33 to defeat the Sixers 125-99 on Sunday night.

The Clippers got whatever they wanted. James Harden was getting to the basket with ease. The shooters were knocking down wide-open looks as the Sixers looked confused out on the floor. The defensive effort hurt Philadelphia to start both the game and the second half.

"I think there's several things, but the biggest thing was just lack of keeping the ball in front of us, really, from the defensive end," said a disappointed Nick Nurse after the loss. "They just drove it to wherever they wanted to to start the game. Really the only good period, I think, we finally got it the second quarter. We finally got some physicality and cut off some of their drives and things, but we just didn't do that at all to start the game or start the half, which is certainly disappointing."

The Sixers had a tough time getting Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain going. Maxey shot 5-for-13 while McCain shot just 3-for-15 and 2-for-11 from deep. The Clippers controlled the game on both ends of the floor and it wasn't particularly close.

LA was up 32-13 at the 3:26 mark of the first quarter and then began the third on a 20-8 run to build an 82-58 lead. The Sixers did not respond well enough.

"I don't know," added McCain. "I mean, I think we just got to come up with more energy. It's something that we can control. We can always control our effort and energy, but we're not right now. Especially, like, coming out in the first and third quarters. So I feel like we just got to talk about that and make sure we just adjust."

The Sixers will have two days off now to prepare for the Houston Rockets on Wednesday before the Thanksgiving holiday.