Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
Round one in the post-trade world goes to the Brooklyn Nets.
Brooklyn steamrolled the Philadelphia 76ers 129-100 in Thursday’s Eastern Conference showdown at Wells Fargo Center. Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Seth Curry led the way for the victors in the potential playoff preview between two teams that will be connected all season following the trade that sent James Harden to the 76ers and Ben Simmons to the Nets.
The Nets improved to 34-33 with their second straight win as they look to establish more consistency in an up-and-down season.
Joel Embiid posted a double-double in defeat for Philadelphia, which fell to 40-25 on the campaign.
Notable Player Stats
- Kevin Durant, F, BKN: 25 PTS, 14 REB, 7 AST, 2 STL
- Kyrie Irving, G, BKN: 22 PTS, 5 AST, 4 REB, 2 BLK
- Seth Curry, G, BKN: 24 PTS, 5 STL
- Joel Embiid, C, PHI: 27 PTS, 12 REB, 5-of-17 FG
- James Harden, G, PHI: 11 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST, 2 STL, 3-of-17 FG
KD, Kyrie and Curry Put on Absolute Show
Pregame attention was focused on Simmons’ return to Philadelphia and the cold reception he received, but the Nets still don’t have the three-time All-Star on the floor.
While the shooting concerns remain valid, Simmons is someone who could at least defend Harden and create additional space for his teammates. His absence puts even more of the onus on his teammates, especially in high-profile games such as Thursday’s, but that was anything but a problem out of the gates.
Brooklyn got whatever it wanted on the offensive end while pouring in 72 first-half points to build a commanding 21-point advantage. Durant threw down a dunk in transition, caught fire from the midrange, facilitated at times and went chest-to-chest with Embiid to talk some trash on the other side in a sign the visitors were not backing down in front of the raucous crowd.
Philadelphia had no answers for Durant’s length as he elevated over every defender it threw at him, but it was far from a one-man show.
Irving danced through the defense and quickly found his touch from deep, including on a buzzer-beater to end the first quarter. Curry also took advantage of the open looks and lanes from the attention Durant and Irving drew as far more than just a secondary scorer.
Curry stayed hot out of the locker room, KD crossed up multiple defenders, and the Nets made a point of not letting their foot off the gas in the third quarter. Philadelphia couldn’t match their energy until the game was well out of hand, which is a scary thought for the home team and the rest of the Eastern Conference.
After all, Brooklyn may end up as the No. 7 or 8 seed in the playoffs. That means one of the top teams in the league is going to have to deal with the basketball brilliance of Durant and Irving in the first round, which is quite the daunting reality and borderline unfair.
The team that was on display Thursday is more than capable of winning the entire thing.
76ers Fall Flat in High-Profile Test
Philadelphia has looked like nothing less than a top-notch championship contender since teaming Harden with Embiid, but Thursday was a significant test against a team that may very well be a roadblock come playoff time.
It didn’t take long to fail that test.
Harden looked lost for long stretches and started 1-of-12 from the field even while passing Reggie Miller for third on the NBA’s all-time list with his 2,561st career three-pointer. He appeared to be forcing the issue at times, perhaps getting caught up in the emotional atmosphere against his former team.
It wasn’t just Harden, though, as the 76ers as a whole shot an ugly 27.1 percent from the field on one side and couldn’t buy a stop throughout the first half on the other. The game would have been completely over by intermission if Embiid didn’t physically overwhelm the Nets’ frontcourt on the way to a stunning 19 free-throw attempts in the first half alone.
Embiid may be an MVP candidate, but he wasn’t bringing Philadelphia back in this one. In fact, he also struggled mightily from the field even though his final stat line looked better than it was because of all the free throws.
Harden’s struggles with his shot also continued, and the game got downright ugly as the Nets extended their lead to more than 30 points in the third quarter.
If there is something of a silver lining for the 76ers, they at least got the circus of Simmons’ return to Philadelphia over with during the regular season and not in the playoffs. Perhaps more of the focus will be on the actual basketball if they face the Nets in the postseason, and that basketball will need to be much better if they are going to bounce back from Thursday’s showing.
What’s Next?
Both teams are in action Sunday when the Nets host the New York Knicks and the 76ers travel to face the Orlando Magic.
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