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PHILADELPHIA – Two teams with championship aspirations faced off when the Philadelphia 76ers hosted the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night. The reunion, a potential preview of the Eastern Conference Finals, was the second of the season between the teams, with the Nets having already beaten Philadelphia once in January. Heading into the evening, the Sixers sat atop the East with a 16-7 record, while the Nets were in third place with a 14-10 record. Both teams were looking for a rebound victory as they were each coming out of a loss. Philadelphia fell to the shorthanded Portland Trail Blazers at home Thursday night, while the Nets abandoned their game against the Toronto Raptors in Brooklyn on Friday.
The Nets were shorthanded in Philadelphia as they were without Kyrie Irving (sprained right index finger) and Kevin Durant (health and safety protocols). Without their two stars, the Nets were ultimately unable to keep pace with the Sixers and Philadelphia clinched a 124-108 victory. Joel Embiid led the way in Philadelphia with 33 points and nine rebounds, while Tobias Harris added 21 points and 12 rebounds. James Harden paced the Nets with 26 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. It’s hard to take too much from this game, as the Nets were without two of their major contributors, but here are three takeaways from Philadelphia’s win over Brooklyn nonetheless.
Nets had no answer inside for Embiid and the Sixers
One of the things the Nets had to sacrifice to land James Harden earlier this season was interior depth, as center Jarrett Allen was dispatched as part of the deal that resulted in Harden in Brooklyn. Allen’s departure left a void in Brooklyn’s frontcourt as he left De’Andre Jordan as the only usable center. Against some teams, the Nets can get away with being so small, but not against a team with a dominant big man like Embiid. Brooklyn has since added Norvel Pelle to bolster their bench, but that move on its own is clearly not enough as Embiid made his way with the Brooklyn greats on Saturday night. The Philadelphia MVP contender had 17 points and five rebounds in the first half of the action, and he finished the game with 33 and nine.
Philadelphia’s advantage over most teams is that Embiid creates a mismatch that works in their favor, and that was certainly the case against the Nets. It wasn’t just Embiid either. The Sixers as a whole took advantage of Brooklyn’s lack of height on the inside and finished with 62 points in the paint – compared to just 32 for Brooklyn. The Sixers also beat Brooklyn on the boards, 51-34. Their ability to dominate the interior was one of the main reasons the Sixers were able to come away with a win on Saturday.
The 76ers remain undefeated with their full starting five
Like every team on the league landscape this season, the Sixers have dealt with their fair share of health issues and injuries, and some players have missed games as a result. However, when they have their first five fulls – including Embiid, Simmons, Curry, Green and Harris – Philadelphia is undefeated this season. They came in 12-0 on Saturday night with their full set of starters, and with the win over Brooklyn they moved up to 13-0. Now that obviously doesn’t mean the Sixers are unbeatable, or that they won’t ultimately lose a game with their favorite squad, but it’s certainly a solid sign for a team looking to build solid chemistry and pace. . for what they hope will be a deep playoff push.
Ben Simmons’ defense against James Harden was a game-changer
The Nets kept the competition tight throughout the first half and third quarter. They were able to keep him close thanks in large part to James Harden, who seemed well on his way to a great performance. The Sixers mainly used Danny Green to keep Harden through the first half and into the second half. However, midway through the third quarter, Doc Rivers made a switch and put Ben Simmons on Harden. Philadelphia then immediately proceeded to a 14-0 run and blew up the game. They never looked back. It was plays like this from Simmons that helped propel the Sixers to victory:
Harden had 24 points in the game when the switch to put Simmons on him was made. He finished the game with 26 points. After the game, Rivers said he thought the decision to put Simmons on Harden was a major turning point in the contest. Rivers also explained that he waited to put Simmons on Harden until the second half because he wanted to conserve his energy and personal faults. Simmons has built a big business to be the league’s defensive player of the year this season, and Saturday night was another feather in his cap.
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