Nets bounce back with comeback win over Sixers

The Brooklyn Nets got a much-needed bounce-back win in a comeback effort against the Sixers on Friday night.

Take a breath Brooklyn Nets fans, the sky isn’t falling. Following a dismal performance on opening night, the Nets were back in action Friday night against the Philadelphia 76ers. After what seemed like déjà vu from Tuesday for three quarters, the Nets were able to use a strong fourth quarter en route to a come-from-behind 114-109.

For the better part of the game, the Nets looked exactly how they did against the Bucks. They had no answer for Tobias Harris and Seth Curry in the first half. In fact, the duo combined for 35 of Philly’s 62 first-half points. If not for having arguably the best player in the world on their roster, the game may have snowballed.

The Nets appeared to be stuck in mud up until the later parts of the fourth quarter. After a Tyrese Maxey alley-oop slam to put the Sixers up 10 with just over six minutes left, the Nets turned it up on both ends of the floor and ended the game on a 16-1 run.

Spearheading the Nets’ efforts all night was Kevin Durant (29 points, 15 rebounds, 12 assists) who collected his 13th career regular-season triple-double and the second one as a member of the Nets.

LaMarcus Aldridge was the unsung hero for Brooklyn as he provided key minutes off the bench. After a hot first half in which he scored eight points in only six minutes, “LMA” was a crucial contributor to the Nets’ efforts down the stretch.

With just under one minute left, James Harden found Aldridge inside for an and-1 dunk which gave the Nets their first lead of the game. He would finish the game with 23 points.

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NETS IN FRONT. pic.twitter.com/GXi2hT0MK0

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) October 23, 2021

Brooklyn was able to keep Joel Embiid (19 points, eight rebounds, four blocks) in check for the most part. He came into the game with some concerns around his knee. Danny Green shot a couple of airballs in the final few minutes which helped spark the Nets run.

Both teams came into the game dealing with their own public issues centered around their star point guards. The Wells Fargo crowd was raucous with a mix of opening-night excitement and anti-Ben Simmons rhetoric. Fortunately for Brooklyn, they can return home with a win under their belt as they now begin a fairly easy stretch of home games.

Other Nets Notes

• Patty Mills remains perfect from deep as he went 3-for-3 on his three-point attempts.
• Bruce Brown saw zero action for the second straight game.
• James Harden passed Kyle Korver for fourth place on the NBA’s all-time three-point list (2,451).
• Nets benched accounted for 44 points.
• Nic Claxton’s struggles continue. He had three points and three rebounds in 16 minutes.

The Nets come home to Brooklyn Sunday for their home-opener against LaMelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets.