NEW YORK – – The Brooklyn Nets quickly lost by double digits to a Philadelphia team that was missing its two All-Stars.
They lost to a team decimated by injuries the night before. If they’re serious about making a playoff run, the Nets know they can’t lose winnable games.
“It’s our fourth quarter of our season, so we have to challenge each other,” interim coach Kevin Ollie said. “We can’t let any game slip away and we have to take care of business.”
Dennis Schroder and Dorian Finney-Smith made sure to get Tuesday’s game, scoring 20 points each in a 112-107 win over the 76ers.
Lonnie Walker IV added 19 points and Nic Claxton 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Nets, who quickly rebounded from a poor performance Monday in a 106-102 home loss to Memphis. They took advantage of a short-handed Philadelphia team with guard Tyrese Maxey scratched early Tuesday with a concussion.
Mikal Bridges scored 15 points and Finney-Smith scored 12 in the fourth quarter for the Nets, who will play their next six — and 10 of their next 11 — on the road, with the Barclays Center hosting basketball tournament games university.
Kelly Oubre Jr. scored a season-high 30 points for the 76ers, who had won two in a row. Tobias Harris added 18.
Maxey hit his head on a player’s knee after sliding in the third quarter Sunday in Dallas and finished the game, but he was showing symptoms by then and was evaluated Tuesday. The team said he was diagnosed with a mild concussion.
So the starting backcourt was Cam Payne, who scored 15 points, and Kyle Lowry, who had 14 as he made his third start after signing with his hometown team last month. The 76ers remain without their leading scorer Joel Embiid after knee surgery.
“I think we played pretty well and I keep saying in these kinds of circumstances – again, we’re still not super organized for obvious reasons – you’re going to have to play well to give yourself a chance ” the 76ers coach said. Nick Nurse said. “We gave ourselves a chance tonight, but again, you can’t make that many probably egregious mistakes like that.”
Philadelphia led 92-84 after Oubre’s 3-pointer with 8:45 left, but the Nets scored the next 11 points, with Claxton’s dunk and free throw, making it 95-92 . Oubre finished the run with a basket, but Dennis Smith Jr. came up with a steal and 360-degree spin for a dunk, then Finney-Smith and Schroder combined for Brooklyn’s next 11 points.
The Nets were without former 76ers All-Star Ben Simmons and Cam Thomas, then played the second half without starting forward Cam Johnson because of a sprained right ankle. He was injured when he was fouled by Lowry while making a 3-point basket in the first quarter.
The 76ers made seven of their first eight shots and led by 14 entering the second. But an excited Schroder scored eight straight Brooklyn points after objecting to a Lowry foul and exchanging words with his counterpart, leading to technical fouls for both.
The final basket of his flurry gave the Nets a one-point lead and the 76ers led 57-56 at halftime after Payne made two free throws with 1.1 seconds remaining.
“The coach told us to react. That’s something he challenged us to do: stick together when things go wrong, when things don’t go our way and we don’t make shots,” Finney-Smith said . “And they came out and punched us in the face first, but we responded well. And sometimes it takes stuff like that with Dennis and Lowry to get guys going, and it definitely got us going.
FOLLOWING
76ers: Host Memphis on Wednesday.
Nets: Visit Detroit on Thursday.
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