During this lost season, there have been plenty of games where the Sixers fought hard but just didn’t have enough talent to pull out the victory; this was not one of those games. The Brooklyn front court absolutely dominated Philadelphia on both ends of the floor as the Nets cruised to a 104-83 win. Mathematically eliminated from the playoffs for the first time, the Sixers displayed no hustle or desire in boxing out or going after loose balls. By the end of the third quarter when the Brooklyn starters saw the floor for the last time, the Nets held a 51-22 rebounding advantage with nearly as many offensive rebounds (19) as the Sixers had total boards. Brook Lopez recorded a game-high 29 points and 11 rebounds (6 offensive), while Reggie Evans bullied his way to 17 points and 24 rebounds (9 offensive).
The onslaught started early on as Brooklyn used a 19-7 rebounding advantage to jump out to a 31-18 first quarter lead. Reggie Evans already had a double-double twelve minutes in, with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Brook Lopez tallied 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks in the frame. The only thing keeping the Sixers even somewhat close initially was some hot shooting by Jrue Holiday, who made 3 of 5 shots from behind the arc for 9 points.
The Sixers made one brief run in the beginning of the second quarter to pull within 5 points. A pair of alley-oop finishes by Dorell Wright and Thaddeus Young provided the lone highlights of the game for Philadelphia. However, that four-minute spurt was all the Sixers had in them on this night, as the Nets continued attacking the glass to stretch the lead to 18 at halftime and breeze through the rest of the game.
The Sixers play again Wednesday night at home against Atlanta. Hopefully, this sort of effort isn’t what Sixers fans can expect during these final games of the season. It’s one thing to watch a losing team, but a losing team that stops caring is something else entirely.
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