The Brooklyn Nets impressively won the long-awaited duel against the Philadelphia 76ers with 129:100. Alongside Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, ex-sixer Seth Curry towers, while James Harden was not a factor at all against his old team. Ben Simmons received a frosty reception.
Philadelphia 76ers (40-25) – Brooklyn Nets (34-33) 100:129 (BOXSCORE)
Show of power by the Brooklyn Nets, who were not impressed by the initially heated atmosphere in the Wells Fargo Center when Ben Simmons returned to Philadelphia. The former No. 1 pick wasn’t used, but was on the bench and had the best view of the Nets’ outstanding performance.
Kevin Durant (25, 10/17 FG, 14 rebounds, 7 assists) and Kyrie Irving (22, 8/17 FG) smashed the Sixers’ defense with elite shotmaking, while Seth Curry (24, 10/14 FG, 5 steals) against his former team in a classic revenge game. Brooklyn hit over 60 percent from the field for a long time and led by as much as 36 points against disappointing hosts. “In the end it was damn quiet in the hall. I couldn’t hear Ben Simmons chanting anymore,” Durant teased after the game after the Sixers fans had repeatedly chanted abusive songs against the ex-Sixer.
Ex-Nets star James Harden was particularly disappointing, who pushed Pacers legend Reggie Miller from third place on the all-time list with a stepback three-pointer in the first quarter, but otherwise spent an evening to forget. The all-star missed all of his ten attempts from the twos, in the end there were only 11 points (3/17 FG) and 6 assists in the box score. In the second half the guard was seen on the bench with a bandage on his calf.
Joel Embiid has also had better performances this season, but the 27 points and 12 rebounds didn’t change that. The Cameroonian scored 15 points on the free-throw line, otherwise the center only hit five of his 17 throw attempts. The Sixers’ second-best scorer was Tobias Harris, who scored 16 points (5/10 FG).
Durant and Irving counter Embiid
Along with DeAndre Jordan, the forward was the only host player to hit at least half of his throws (garbage time excluded). As a team, the weak Sixers sank a meager 32 percent from the field. “We lacked momentum today,” stated Harden, who also saw positives. “Everything has been great since I arrived, so today’s game was good for us. We’ve come back to reality (…) They kicked our butts.”
The first quarter clearly belonged to the Nets, and Embiid’s free-throw orgy (10/13 FT) didn’t change that, after Andre Drummond and Bruce Brown had already committed three fouls. The guests were not impressed by the heated atmosphere, both Irving and Durant had 11 points after twelve minutes and had only missed one throw each.
Thanks to Curry, the Nets sank almost everything from the middle distance and, thanks to a 14:2 run at the end of the quarter, were already leading 40:23. 16 points went to Embiid, who fought a heated battle of words with Durant as in the first game between the two teams. Harden, on the other hand, was invisible and only attracted attention through constant lamentation.
Sixers fans boo their own team
As a result, things calmed down a bit, the Nets had things under control. Irving kept hitting pullups, Durant hit an And-1 against Embiid. Philadelphia had no answers on defense, and Embiid wasn’t a factor either, as the Nets mostly took jump shots and hit them consistently (66 percent from the field). The hosts, on the other hand, were just 27 percent at the break and were still well served with a gap of 21 points (51:72). Embiid had more free throws converted (15) than Philly made throws as a team (13) at this point.
Even after the change there was no improvement, Brooklyn continued to fire from all cylinders. Curry had the hot hand and, after a threesome, sent a glare towards his former colleagues on the Sixers bench. Harden, on the other hand, didn’t get anything at all, only Harris and Embiid fought back a bit, but the gap continued to grow and in the middle of the third period loud boos could be heard from the audience – not against Simmons, but against their own team.
There was no more gasping either, the garbage time began more or less as early as the beginning of the final section, in which the Sixers were still doing some cosmetic work on the result. The Nets ended the season series against Philly 3-1 but remain eighth in the Eastern Conference, five games behind the first direct playoff spot. The Sixers remain third, but the lead over pursuers Chicago (0.5 games) and Boston (1) is marginal.
