January 8th 2017
76ers 105 Nets 95
The Brooklyn Nets have now lost six consecutive games. They now have the worst record in the league at 8-28. Today a familiar trend returned, poor 3rd quarter play doomed the Nets this afternoon at Barclays. Brook Lopez had a very dominant offensive game in the middle. He played well against the combination of Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel. Brook finished with 26-points but only had 2 rebounds in the game.
Turnovers also derailed the Nets; they had 22 this afternoon as they struggled to protect the basketball.
“Its tough they had 16 more shots than us.” Coach Kenny Atkinson
The Nets scored 16-points in the third while the 76ers, who went into the half down nine came out with a flurry after the break and scored 32-points in the period. The 4th quarter saw the Nets expend themselves on defense to begin the period but fail to sustain any momentum and run out of gas to finish the game.
“We came out dead it was completely different from the first half..” – Brook Lopez
It began on a cold and snowy Brooklyn afternoon. Two teams, both in transition, both desperate for a win, one calls it “The Process” (76ers) and the other calls it “Grit” (Brooklyn).
The Nets were once again without Jeremy Lin and the Sixers were still without their number 1 overall draft pick Ben Simmons. As the game began there were boisterous chants of “Trust the process” by the 76er fans in attendance. Joel Embiid alluded to this in his post game interview. “It shows that the Sixers fans are all over the place.. Its Great.”
Embiid even hinted that he thinks the Sixers could make the playoffs after today’s win. He mentioned that they were only 8 games out of the final playoff spot. He doesn’t lack confidence, he hopes to make the all-star team so that he can ask singer Rihanna on a date.
Philly has a jam log at the center position; Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor and Joel Embiid are all sharing minutes. Embiid has emerged as the clear favorite amongst the three. Embiid’s matchup against the Nets’ Brook Lopez would prove to be key this afternoon for both teams as both players led their team in scoring. Embiid finished with 20-points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks. He showed great patience on offence as he missed some shots early but eventually settled down and competed against Lopez. Okafor did not play today due to coach’s decision.
Brook hit his first shot over Embiid, a corner 3 to set the tone early. Brook won the matchup early as the veteran had 7-points in the first while Embiid had 4-points in six minutes of action in the first.
The Nets as a team played well in the first however after they had built a big lead the Sixers regrouped. The Nets went on a 4-minute stretch without scoring and the Sixers ended the quarter on a nice run. At the end of the first the Nets led 27-24.
Justin Hamilton provided the Nets with a nice spark off the bench as he scored 16-points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Bogan Bogdanovic had 12-points but was 5-14 from the field.
The 3-point line was the story early, the Nets shot 50% while the Sixers were at 14% for the half. Isaiah Whitehead had another monster block in the first half, he started this afternoon and had 5-points and 3 assists however he had 6 turnonvers which was a team high . Brook was active in the first half, it didn’t seem to matter, which 76er big was guarding him, he took advantage of each matchup.
The Nets began the second half going scoreless until Brook Lopez scored with 7: 18 left in the 3rd. By that point the Sixers had taken the lead 59-57 as they started off the second half with more energy. The Sixers took a nine-point lead after a big 3 from Nik Stauskas late in the 3rd.
The Nets would tighten up on defense in the fourth and got the game back under control. With 8:44 left in the 4th they tied the game at 82 after a tough layup in transition by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. As he often does Sean Kilpatrick came alive late for the home team. He had 8-points to bring the Nets to within seven. The Sixers would eventually go up by 14 with 1:57 left in the game after a 3 by Robert Covington and the Nets would not recover.
The Nets look to end the streak against the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday at Barclays Center.
Thank You for reading
Sherman Gomez is a staff writer for PureSportsNY
Follow him on Twitter: sherman@shermangmz1