Game 35 Recap: Nets 109, 76ers 89. The One Where Brooklyn Had A Second Half Surge

Reggie Evans grabbed 23 rebounds tonight. The 76ers had 32 as a team. That pretty much sums up the game

Maybe all that criticism and snark the Nets heard from those around the NBA after firing Avery Johnson and replacing him with P.J. Carlesimo was undue. Brooklyn is now 6-1 since P.J. has taken over the reins of the team, with its only loss being the New Years' Eve debacle in San Antonio against the Spurs. The Nets just look like a much different and more energetic team since the coaching change and are clearly playing with more desire and swagger, possessing the killer instinct that is necessary to win most NBA games, and blow out team as well. That intensity was on display in full force tonight as the Nets steamrolled the lifeless 76ers in, surprisingly enough, a great second half effort.

The first half of tonight's game was about as close as it could possibly be. Every time the Nets would get ahead by five or so points, Philly would crawl back with a few shots here and there, not scoring enough to build up a lead but enough to stick with the Nets who–like much of this season–couldn't out away the 76ers, at least in the first half. The first and second quarter were eerily similar, both very competitive, and not yielding much in favor of one team specifically. By the end of the 2nd quarter, the Nets only held a one-point advantage, which seemed extremely perilous considering how bad the Nets tend to play in 3rd quarters.

You know that normal 3rd quarter swoon I just hinted at last paragraph? Well, the Nets escaped that tonight and absolutely ran the 76ers out of the gym in the 3rd quarter, outscoring them by a margin of 35-14 and transforming a close matchup into a ridiculously lopsided one which would extend Brooklyn's winning streak to four-in-a-row and games-above-.500 mark to five. As Philly only hit one field goal and scored two points in the first six minutes+ of the second half, the Nets made 8 OF THEIR FIRST 9 SHOTS in the same time span, scoring 18 points. Yes, that part was puts in Caps because of how stunning/awesome it was. No, it was not a typo.

Anyway, the Nets held a 66-49 lead after that 18-2 spurt and would only build on that advantage the rest of the game, coasting along as they held their lead comfortably, uncharacteristic of the Nets to do. It was a nice, smooth, and easy way to finish off a nice, smooth, and easy win for a team that has been playing too many unnecessarily close games as of late. Just a great night for a team that has been rolling as of late and a bad night for a team that has been stinking up the joint recently and even got booed by its own crowd by the end of the game.

Some other observations I had from the game: Reggie Evans had 23 rebounds (16 in the first half). Not a typo. The Nets had 50 rebounds as a team. The 76ers had 32 rebounds as a team. Case closed…..All Nets starters had +/- of +20 or more. All Philly starters had +/- of -12 or less…..The Nets shot 48.2 percent from the field. The 76ers shot 48.1 percent from the field. Ok, that one probably had nothing to do with the game's outcome but is very odd nonetheless. In a 20-point blowout, teams having within .1 percentage points of the same field goal percentage? I've never seen that before…..Andray Blatche scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds after nearly being arrested earlier today for sexual assault. Interesting dude…..Brook scored 13 points on 6-10 shooting in limited action. Shot looked good again….D-Will and Joe both brought their A+ shots today, as they were each on the money from long-range and scored 22 and 15 points respectively…..Mirza showed some more confidence with his shot and hit a pair of garbage time threes. Scored eight points in total.

Looking Ahead

Another game, another full-team astounding effort from the Nets to take care of a bad Philly team. The Nets are the only team in the NBA to still be undefeated (13-0) against sub-.500 teams. They have another two-day break until they face another below-.500 team, the Phoenix Suns, at the Barclays Center this Friday.