PLAYER GRADES: Philadelphia 76ers 145, Brooklyn Nets 123
By Matt Burnham
The Philadelphia 76ers came out Monday night with a chip on their shoulder after hearing the vitriol from numerous sports media outlets. Whatever was their motivation, it was enough to lead them past the Brooklyn Nets in a Game 2 blowout.
The Philadelphia 76ers could not have asked for a better bounce-back performance after Saturday afternoon’s debacle.
An offensive explosion capped by a 51-point third quarter brought the Wells Fargo Center to an outstanding uproar as the Sixers evened the series.
Ben Simmons obviously took the harsh criticism to heart as he scored 16 points in the first half. Boban Marjanovic was money from the elbow. The Nets could not do anything with Joel Embiid in the post.
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It was a video game-like performance that should give the Sixers all the momentum heading into Brooklyn for Games 3 and 4.
The only cause for concern is that the Nets have been marvelous from three-point territory. They shot 42.3 percent in Game 1 and 41.7 percent Monday night. It will be tough to continue matching that over the course of the series and the Sixers will need to do a better job closing out on shooters and contesting those long jumpers moving forward.
The rebounding discrepancy of 49-32 is the best sign for the Sixers. There is nothing the Nets can do to keep up with the Sixers’ length and size.
Racking 29 assists will be key to victory, ball movement and selfless play will continuously allow open shots to a lineup full of guys who will knock them down when given the opportunities.
The Sixers almost lost The Process in this one after a vicious (but accidental) elbow strike to Jarrett Allen on a spin move to the rim knocked the Nets center to the floor, the referees took a good time reviewing. While announcers speculated it could result in an automatic ejection from a Flagrant 2 foul, it was deemed a Flagrant 1.
After that, the rest is history.
For tonight at least, it was a party in Philadelphia.
A. <strong>30 mins | 18 pts | 10 reb | 12 ast | 2 stl | 0 blk | 3 TO | 8-12 FG | 0-0 3PT| 2-4 FT | 3 PF | +23 |</strong><p>It was a redemption game for the Australian star. Simmons displayed aggression and fire from opening tipoff. It was evident that the rest of the bunch fed off his energy. Simmons was in full attack mode and amped up on the defensive end as well. The critics will not have much ammo after this one.</p>. Point guard. Philadelphia 76ers. BEN SIMMONS
Philadelphia 76ers. JOEL EMBIID. A. <strong>21 mins | 23 pts | 10 reb | 1 ast | 1 stl | 0 blk | 2 TO | 8-12 FG | 0-0 3PT| 7-8 FT | 5 PF | +26 |</strong><p>The Nets have zero counter for Embiid in the post. While still hobbled and limited, Embiid was able to dominate the glass and provide the spark during the Sixers third quarter eruption. He was able to put up highly impressive numbers in just 21 minutes of action.</p>. Center
Philadelphia 76ers. BOBAN MARJANOVIC. B. <strong>18 mins | 16 pts | 8 reb | 1 ast | 0 stl | 1 blk | 1 TO | 8-14 FG | 0-0 3PT| 0-0 FT | 3 PF | +1 |</strong><p>Boban was spectacular Monday night. The Nets continued to let him shoot the open elbow jumper. He kept hitting it. As a fan favorite, the crowd fed off his scoring, especially <a rel=. Center
<strong>29 mins | 19 pts | 5 reb | 2 ast | 0 stl | 1 blk | 0 TO | 5-12 FG | 2-4 3PT| 7-7 FT | 1 PF | +30 |</strong><p>Much like Ben, it was a redemption game for Tobias after Saturday’s brutal Game 1. To put it in simple terms, the shot was falling. He was engaged and energized. He was the player that <a rel=. Power forward. Philadelphia 76ers. TOBIAS HARRIS. B-
B-. <strong>22 mins | 15 pts | 3 reb | 0 ast | 1 stl | 0 blk | 0 TO | 5-7 FG | 3-5 3PT| 2-2 FT | 1 PF | +6 |</strong><p><a rel=. Power forward. Philadelphia 76ers. MIKE SCOTT
Shoutout to J.J. Redick who had a great game himself with 17 points on 7-12 shooting.
It was the ideal team effort for the Sixers. Things became tight in the second quarter when the Nets erased a 13-point deficit and it looked like the demons were about to possess the Sixers once again.
Credit to Brett Brown for whatever he did in the locker room at half time. He had his team psychologically and emotionally prepared to start the third quarter. They basically ran the Nets out the gym.
We saw exactly what the Sixers identity will need to be if a deep playoff run is in their sight. Take advantage of the overwhelming size and athleticism, put an an offensive firework show, gas the other team.
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Game 3 of this series will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Thursday night. The game will be broadcasted at 8 p.m. on TNT.