Durant’s Rally Triple Double overtakes 76 x 114-109
Philadelphia Oct 23 (U.S.): Ben Simmons wasn’t around. Joel Embiid admitted he shouldn’t have played. With Philadelphia’s star cornerstones missing or injured, Kevin Durant and Brooklyn got the hole they needed to spoil their 76th opener with a rally along the stretch.
Durant scored 29 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists, James Harden scored 20 points and closed the Nets 16-1 to win 76 x 114-109 on Friday night as each team played without a much-discussed star guard.
“I felt like my role tonight was to get into the drawing and do the plays,” Durant said. “We have to keep building on this and see where we can go.”
The Nets were missing Kyrie Irving, who is not with the team due to his refusal to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Ben Simmons sat out the house opening for personal reasons and the Sixers don’t know when the three-time All-Stars will return.
They could have used Simmons’ defense to shut down the Nets late, the Associated Press reports.
The Sixers threw volleys at back-to-back possessions early in the Brooklyn race. He never netted a drive or a tie until LaMarcus overwhelmed Aldridge with 48 seconds left making it 108-108. He hit the free throw to advance by one point.
Durant made two free throws to keep Brooklyn back from 14 points down.
“Sure, we did a lot of playing along the field, but that was because we wanted to keep going,” Nets coach Steve Nash said. “Their willingness to compete and belief is the reason they win the game.”
Embiid scored 19 points on his right knee pain against New Orleans in the opening game. He left for the locker room in the closing moments of the first half on Friday and warmed up in the first half with a knee twist but started the third quarter. Tobias Harris and Seth Curry each scored 23 points for the Sixers.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have played but it’s good to be there with the players,” Embiid said.
Simmons has not played since his off-season commercial request. He met with the Sixers before the morning shooting. Coach Doc Rivers said it was a “productive day” and hoped it could be the start of getting Simmons back into the fold.
The 25-year-old Australian became the number one target of mockery for Sixers fans, dressed up to mock the absent goalkeeper. The most popular was a Mr. Softy T-shirt with an ice cream swirl on Simmons’ head. Another fan was wearing a red clown wig and clown nose and had the “clown” logo on his number 25 Simmons shirt. Parking lots found illegal sales of Simmons T-shirts on a “missing” label.
Harris said the Sixers and fans need to rally around the Simmons.
“In this space, you’re portrayed as a superhero, and you’re not really supposed to have feelings or go through anything,” Harris said. “I think we should really understand that he’s human first. And you know, if he’s going through something at this time, we have to respect that.”
Durant and Harden were a two-player show through fourth, and the Nets had no answers when Simmons’ replacement Tyrese Maxi scored five straight points early in the quarter sending the lead to double.
Harris hit Matisse Thybulle on an alley making it 108-98 and even made Embiid rise off the bench in celebration. The Sixers wouldn’t score again until Curry made one of two free throws with 15.2 seconds left to make it 111-109 and the crash was complete.
please be nice
The Sixers did their best to defuse potential chants against Simmons – the Flyers in the same building this week getting louder towards Simmons – by sending Embiid to address the crowd.
Embiid thanked fans for coming after they had to stay home for most of last season amid the pandemic and asked them to support Simmons because he “is still our brother”. The crowd listened and the cheers did not continue for any developed material.
TIP-INS
Nets: Durant sinks all 10 free throws. …Harden has seven rebounds and eight assists.
76ers: Simmons was suspended for the first game of the season for team-damaging behavior after Rivers kicked him out of training for refusing to train. Rivers said he doesn’t want to predict when Simmons will join the Sixers – if the guard ever returns. Embiid was injured by a technique in the first half. .. Danny Green hits three air balls in the fourth quarter.
do not irritate
The Nets decided that Irving would not play or train with the team at all until he was a full participant. He cannot play at home due to the New York City vaccination mandate.
“We lost a big piece,” Nash said. “It’s not just the new pieces. It’s the void we used to play in. There’s a lot for us to take on this moment in time and hopefully in the coming weeks we’ll start clearing some of the debris, so to speak, and figure out how best to play together.”
he said that
“If they have the top 575, I might have a chance.” – Rivers, a former NBA All-Star goalkeeper, for not forming the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team.
the following
Nets: Brooklyn heads home on Sunday to face Charlotte at the start of a six-game season at home. Washington, Miami, Indiana, Detroit, and Atlanta are on the schedule.
76ers: Simmons’ next chances of returning are both on the road, Sunday in Oklahoma City and Tuesday in New York.