Kevin Durant scored 18 of his 34 points in Brooklyn’s dominating first half in the Nets’ blowout 129-100 victory over the 76ers today (AEDT) in Ben Simmons’ highly publicized return to Philadelphia.
Seth Curry added 24 points and Kyrie Irving had 22 for the Nets. They entered in eighth place in the East but looked like a legitimate conference contender while poorly outperforming the 76ers in third place.
Joel Embiid had 27 points and 12 rebounds for the 76ers, and James Harden finished with just 11 points. It was Philadelphia’s first loss in six games with Harden in the lineup.
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The game was dubbed ‘Boo Ben’ night, but vocal fans turned their displeasure on the home side instead when the 76ers went to the locker room trailing 72-51 and again when Brooklyn built a stunning 32-point lead. in the third trimester. .
Simmons, dressed in a designer hockey jersey and flashy boxing kangaroo collar, watched from the bench, likely reveling in the vitriol deflected from him. The three-time All-Star continues to recover from a back injury that sidelined him since being traded to Harden in a blockbuster deal at the trade deadline.
Kevin Durant and the Nets silence the Philadelphia crowd
Although Simmons has yet to speak, Harden had been a boon to the 76ers unlike his stint in Brooklyn, where the so-called Big 3 of Harden, Durant and Irving only managed to play 16 games together. after Harden’s trade to Brooklyn last January which was touted as a potential championship move. Harden traded punches with Nets staffers just before making a phone call ahead of a shockingly poor performance by the 10-time All-Star and former MVP.
Harden missed 14 of 17 field goal attempts.
The only hit Simmons took was a pregame warmup dunk that drew derisory cheers from Philadelphia fans.
The boos started early, as Simmons was greeted with whistles as he boarded the team bus to travel from the Nets’ downtown hotel. Simmons compelled a fan for an autograph, with another heard on a video widely circulated on social media shouting, “Why the grievance? Why spit in the face of Sixers fans? We’ve done nothing but support you for five years, Ben. You know. »
The rowdiness continued when Simmons was at the arena. He entered the field 55 minutes before the whistleblower wearing a sleeveless Nets warm-up shirt and tracksuit and spent 20 minutes passing for Patty Mills’ warm-up shots. He did not kiss any of his former teammates, although he did walk the length of the field to kiss a 76ers official.
A large security presence watched the crowd closely, and cellphones picked up Simmons’ every move.
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