Michael Porter Jr. lit the fuse early, and the Nets’ protection did the remainder.
Porter poured in a game-high 28 factors and Brooklyn sustained its December defensive surge Tuesday night time, holding the Philadelphia 76ers to 40.7% taking pictures whereas forcing 17 turnovers in a 114-106 win at Xfinity Cellular Area. The victory improved the Nets to 9-19 and marked simply the second time this season they’ve put collectively consecutive wins, a small however telling signal of traction for a workforce nonetheless discovering itself.
Brooklyn couldn’t have scripted a rougher begin, although it was solely the primary swing in an evening that stored shifting. The Nets opened the night time 0-for-7 from the sector, 0-for-6 from 3-point vary and rapidly fell behind Philadelphia, 8-1.
Then Porter caught fireplace.
The ahead buried three straight treys, flipping the sport on its head and giving Brooklyn the lead as he scored 12 of the Nets’ first 15 factors. Locked in from the soar, Porter went 4-for-5 from the sector and 3-for-4 from deep within the opening quarter, persevering with his surge towards a possible first All-Star nod. By the point he headed to the bench with 2:45 left within the interval, Porter had 14 factors, tied for his most in a primary quarter this season, and what appeared like an early runaway had changed into a back-and-forth battle, with the Nets and 76ers knotted at 27 coming into the second.
The Nets’ reserves have been a bit careless to open the interval, as turnovers from Nolan Traore, Tyrese Martin and Ziaire Williams helped Philadelphia construct a seven-point lead with 10 minutes left within the half. However as soon as head coach Jordi Fernández went again to his starters, Brooklyn tightened up, ripping off an 18-4 run to swing the sport once more and take a seven-point lead with 4:46 left earlier than the break.
Porter’s halftime line was ridiculous: 25 factors on 8-for-13 taking pictures, together with 5-for-8 from deep and a +10 in simply 17 minutes. But it amounted to solely a six-point Nets lead. It was probably the most factors he’s ever scored in a half, and Brooklyn backed it up on the defensive finish. Exterior of Joel Embiid’s 19 factors on 7-for-10 taking pictures, the remainder of the 76ers mixed to shoot simply 10-for-29 (34.5%).
That defensive focus carried over into the following body, although the Nets bought an surprising help when Embiid went down minutes into the third quarter after tripping over Terance Mann’s leg. Embiid grabbed at his proper knee and was helped to the locker room earlier than later returning to the sideline with each knees wrapped. Brooklyn capitalized throughout that window, persevering with to defend with goal whereas pairing it with environment friendly offense and a well timed burst from Egor Demin to open its largest lead of the night time at 12 factors with 7:01 remaining within the interval.
Embiid returned on the 6:49 mark and turned the ball over on his first possession again, and the Nets stored up the strain. Brooklyn pushed the result in 17 and took an 89-77 benefit into the fourth after holding Philadelphia to 27.3% taking pictures within the third quarter and forcing seven turnovers.
The 76ers missed their first 4 pictures to open the ultimate body, and a 3-point play by Traore off a blur of a drive to the basket pushed Brooklyn’s result in 18. It appeared decisive, although Philadelphia had one final push after the house crowd grew stressed, trimming the deficit to 9 with 3:56 left. However Demin put an finish to that run, drilling two of his career-high-tying 5 3-pointers within the closing minutes to maintain Brooklyn firmly in management.
Demin completed with 20 factors and 5 assists, Nic Claxton recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 16 factors and 10 rebounds, and Noah Clowney added 13 factors regardless of one other inefficient night time.
Embiid led Philadelphia with 27 factors, six rebounds and 4 assists.
The Nets return to motion Saturday towards the Minnesota Timberwolves at Goal Middle.
