GRADES: Sixers comfortably defeat James Harden, Nets

The Philadelphia 76ers suffered a bad loss to a depleted Brooklyn Nets team in January. On this night, the Sixers would get revenge.

The Sixers looked to rebound after an ugly loss to the Trail Blazers the other night. In that game, Joel Embiid came out scorching hot. This game was no different. The Sixers’ big man scored at every level, and he even made a nice pass to Furkan Korkmaz who scored on a reverse. Needless to say, Embiid made his presence felt early and often.

With Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving out for this game, the Sixers would hope to capitalize on their absence. Harden came out firing though, making play after play, either getting his own shot or creating for others. He took 11 shots in the first quarter alone. The former MVP was a problem every time he got into the paint, lobbing the ball multiple times for Deandre Jordan scores.

Ben Simmons — who missed the last game due to calf tightness — showed aggression early, driving strong to the basket on a number of occasions. He scored on a thunderous slam on an open court fastbreak after a steal from Joe Harris. In transition, he found Danny Green open for a 3-pointer. His early contributions showed why he was sorely missed against the Blazers.

Multiple former Sixers played in the second quarter, including Norvel Pelle, Landry Shamet, and Timothy Luwawu-Cabarrot. They helped keep the score close in the first half, but they had no answer for Tobias Harris on the boards. The Sixers’ third star made most of his points off the offensive glass. He collected eight rebounds prior to intermission.

Before the half, Seth Curry made his first field goal in eight quarters. Watching him prior to the 3-pointer was brutal. His timing and endurance has been off ever since his return from his COVID diagnosis.

To start the third quarter, Curry kept shooting and found his stroke. He scored from three and in the paint. The Sixers needed his scoring to keep pace with James Harden and Joe Harris. Both players made shots from the perimeter and in the paint. They took a lead in the quarter until the Sixers went on a 6-0 run because of some nice defensive plays.

Simmons continued to push the ball in transition, making passes to set up teammates for open shots. Tobias Harris also pushed the ball, scoring on a drive that extended the Sixers’ lead. Brooklyn was forced to call timeout after back-to-back 3-pointers by Danny Green.

A huge turning point came when the 76ers turned up the heat on the defensive end. Steals, tips, and blocks by Matisse Thybulle helped the Sixers go on a huge run. Ben Simmons also got into the frenzy, swiping passes and causing havoc for the Nets. Another Simmons dunk on a fast break forced Steve Nash to call another timeout. Going into the fourth quarter, the Sixers’ lead climbed to 16 points.

With Embiid on the bench, Shake Milton provided solid offense, driving the lane and shooting from beyond the arc. Pelle blocked him multiple times in the game, but Milton stayed aggressive. Furkan Korkmaz also chipped in with some long range bombs, showing his perimeter skills when the Sixers needed his offense.

As the game became more out of reach for the Nets, the coach for Brooklyn decided to keep Harden on the bench. At that point, the game was in the bag for Philly. Had the Sixers experienced another let-down game like the Portland game, it could have put the team in a tighter race in the Atlantic Division. Yet, Doc Rivers executed another good coaching performance, setting a solid rotation throughout the game.

The Philadelphia 76ers go on the road for their next game. They play the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 10 PM EST.