The Philadelphia 76ers snapped their seven-game losing streak on Friday night, taking down the Nets 121-120 in overtime. Their record improves to 8-19.
- The Nets played this game without the services of Joe Johnson, who lit up the Sixers for 29 points in the third quarter alone earlier this week. Kevin Garnett also sat this one out.
- Evan Turner had been struggling lately, but got off to a great start tonight and ended with an even greater finish. Turner scored 14 in the first quarter, and didn’t miss a shot during the first 12 minutes, including a buzzer-beating shot as the quarter expired. Turner had one more buzzer-beating shot in him tonight, scoring the game-winning layup as time expired in overtime.
- Turner finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists.
- Thaddeus Young also played a strong game tonight. Young had 25 points with six rebounds, four assists, and three steals. He hit all three of his three-point attempts.
- Michael Carter-Williams returned to the lineup after missing seven straight games. MCW had 15 points, 10 assists, and three steals.
- Spencer Hawes flirted with a triple-double, but shot just 3-14.
- The team really struggled defending the three again. Brooklyn connected on 15 of their 33 attempts, and it really helped keep them in the game.
- The Sixers shot 60% in the first half on their way to putting up 60 points through two quarters.
Final Thoughts
The Sixers didn’t have a lot of defensive success in this game, but the heart, effort, and hustle that were noticeably missing earlier this week were all present and accounted for tonight.
The team played like a squad that wanted to end their seven-game losing streak. Brett Brown’s group ran neck and neck with the Nets from start to finish in a game that had 30 lead changes.
The end result was one of the team’s most entertaining games of the year that ended with a W.
