Nets lose fifth game out of seven without Kevin Durant to 76ers, 137-133

Jan 26, 2023 - 4:02 AM
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Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images




The chance was there Wednesday but the Nets just didn’t have enough to get across the finish line victorious.

Brooklyn went down the wire with the Philadelphia 76ers in what was a very chippy (and long!) game but ultimately fell short, losing 137-133. The Nets have now lost five of their seven total games while playing without Kevin Durant. Ultimately, giving up 75 points at halftime doomed the Nets in what was not one of their best defensive showings from the league’s sixth-best defense since Durant went down.

Seth Curry was the high man for the Nets in his revenge game after getting traded along with Ben Simmons from Philadelphia to Brooklyn a season ago for James Harden. Curry’s 32 points were his highest total as a Net on a season-high 7 made threes, and he was just five points shy of his career-high in scoring.

For the second game in a row, Nic Claxton set a career-high in points with 25 to go with 11 rebounds. Claxton only recorded two total blocks, meaning that his team record 12-game streak of recording at least 3 rejections was finally broken.

Ben Simmons, notably playing in his second game in Philadelphia after his unceremonious exit that resulted in a season-long holdout, had an odd performance. He finished 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists but went completely scoreless in the first half.

Philadelphia was led by Joel Embiid with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Former Net Harden helped close the game for the 76ers with 8 points in the final four minutes to bring his game totals to 23 points and 7 assists.

Both teams had hot nights from deep, thus the enormous final score, as Brooklyn shot 53.8% from deep while Philadelphia made 47.4% of their threes. However, the Sixers made up for the deficit and then some by getting to the line 36 times and made a vastly impressive 35 of those total attempts. The Nets, meanwhile, went just 14-of-26 from the charity stripe.

Things got off to an exciting start when Embiid got matched up with his former teammate, Simmons, three times in the first three minutes of play. After Philly jumped out to an early 16-8 lead, the Nets’ defensive effort smoothed out the deficit to 21-19. In what was a high-scoring first quarter, three-point shooting (75% for Brooklyn; 66.7% for Philadelphia) from both teams tied the ballgame at 41 each.

The second quarter began much like most of the first: full of scoring. Curry filled up the box score with 13 quick points on 4-of-7 shooting. Jacque Vaughn was forced to call timeout at the 7:17 mark when Tyrese Maxey crossed up Claxton on a stepback three and Montrezl Harrell posted up a mismatch for a layup. Philadelphia was able to build a 10-point that they sustained throughout the rest of the quarter, ending the half ahead 75-65.

Simmons finally got on the board with his first points of the game at the 9:32 mark of the third on a turnaround hook shot. He attacked again on a drive to the rim to draw contact and sunk both free throws. Then he rampaged toward the rim on a gorgeous little flip shot for 6 quick points. Philadelphia began to pull away as Harden and Embiid started cooking—The Beard from the three-point line and Embiid inside the paint—giving the 76ers a 96-79 advantage with just over four minutes remaining. A pair of fancy rim finishes from Claxton and a microwave-scoring stretch from Curry of six points helped Brooklyn close the gap. To cap things off, Simmons pushed the fullcourt in the final second of the game and hit a push shot through contact, though he missed the free throw, to make it a 107-98 game.

Simmons kept the aggression in fourth, again attacking Harrell in transition for a flip shot. Brooklyn was able to whittle down the lead to 6 points, but then Tobias Harris went on a mini 5-0 run by attacking Yuta Watanabe in space to build a 14-point lead. But the Nets weren’t dead yet. Brooklyn did an excellent job mixing its defensive coverages, toggling between zone and man-to-man, to halt Philadelphia’s offense. On the other end, the Nets got a one-dribble three-pointer from Joe Harris off a handoff and a Curry corner three courtesy of an absolutely gorgeous pass from Watanabe.

Curry hit a pull-up jumper at the 4:39 mark to get Philadelphia’s lead down to just 3 and force a timeout from Doc Rivers. Thirty seconds later, he got his 30th point off a pull-up three to tie the ballgame. Philadelphia punched back with a pair of stepback threes from Harden, and then a Harris make in transition gave the Sixers the 6-point lead once more with just over two minutes remaining. A late push from Irving, who dropped in five quick points, gave the Nets a chance, but the 76ers made their free throws for Philadelphia’s sixth-straight win.

What’s next

The Nets head back to Brooklyn on Thursday for the second half of a back-to-back against Detroit. Coverage against the Pistons begins at 7:30 PM EST on the YES Network.

For a different perspective on tonight’s game, head to Liberty Ballers, our Sixers sister site.








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