The Philadelphia 76ers took care of a division rival at home behind another strong Joel Embiid performance.
Few teams outside the upper echelon have given the Philadelphia 76ers more trouble this season than the Brooklyn Nets. A lineup with two dynamic point guards and a dynamic pick-and-roll game seems tailor-made to give Brett Brown’s squad fits. It didn’t matter Thursday night.
The Sixers went to work early against the Nets, riding the hot hands of Joel Embiid and J.J. Redick in the first half. Embiid drilled three first-quarter triples, with Boban Marjanovic hitting one of his own later in the frame. When the Sixers’ 7-foot-plus centers combine for four triples in a quarter, it’s a good day.
Behind an offensive explosion, the Sixers were up 38-23 after one. The Nets were able to trim the lead back to single digits in the second half, using some questionable foul calls to gain momentum, but the Sixers were still up nine at the midway point.
The second half went largely in the Sixers’ favor, with Embiid pounding the interior and the bench making subtle, but effective contributions. It was a resounding win that the Sixers very much needed after two disappointing losses in Atlanta and Orlando.
In addition to Embiid’s dominance, the Sixers received another strong performance from Ben Simmons. It wasn’t his flashiest game, but he made some nice cuts to the rim, scored with both hands, and notched a cool 16 points.
Behind Embiid, Brown once again relied on Marjanovic over Amir Johnson and Jonah Bolden, giving the 7-foot-3 behemoth 18 minutes. It was a productive stretch for Boban, who took advantage of the Nets’ smaller lineups en route to 16 points of his own.
Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris scored just nine and six points, respectively, but Butler still made some impact plays on defense while grabbing seven rebounds. Harris has been in a funk lately, and Thursday night was a low point.
Also of importance was the Sixers’ stylistic choices. Both Embiid and Butler broke out the samurai headbands in the starting five, while Mike Scott continued the trend in reserve. I don’t think Embiid’s 39-point effort was a coincidence, nor Scott’s efficient 11 points.
The Sixers need to make the tied-back headbands a regular occurrence. They’re too stylish not to. Simmons should get in on the action as well — heck, even Tobi could round out the big-four. Who else’s big four wears matching, fashion-forward headbands?
Brooklyn currently stands seventh in the East, just half a game behind the sixth-seeded Detroit Pistons. There’s a very real chance the Sixers face the Nets in round one, so winning in such convincing fashion down the stretch is a solid morale boost.