PHILADELPHIA — The Nets got their best performance ever from Cam Johnson.
And on Friday night, they just squandered it with a 113-98 loss to Philadelphia.
Even though Johnson had the best shooting night of his career, in front of a packed Wells Fargo Center crowd of 19,817 that booed former Sixer Ben Simmons every time he touched the ball. The Nets' sloppiness and turnovers took their toll.
Johnson finished with 37 points, setting a career high with 9 of his 13 points from deep.
He was one point shy of his career high.
But even that wasn't enough.
The Nets committed 19 turnovers and gave up 28 points to Philadelphia.
And in a loss to a Philadelphia team that played without injured All-Stars Joel Embiid and Paul George, many players played in a crucial fourth quarter.
Fittingly, it was Johnson who made the 3-pointer to put the Nets up 90-89 with 7:25 left, but the Nets made nine unanswered over the next three minutes, the last by Tyrese. – Maxey's layup capped it off.
Cam Thomas scored 18 points, but shot just 6 of 15, forced the ball and committed seven unsightly turnovers to fuel the Sixers' fast break.
They never tried again.
The Nets went 6-10 and lost 1-2 in the NBA Cup.
Philadelphia improved to just 3-12 and 1-2 in the NBA Cup. Jared McCain had 30 points and Maxey had 26 points.
The Nets trailed by 13 points early.
Thomas passed the ball to Gershon Yabusele, who fed Maxey for a fast-break dunk. Remember, it's a trend.
The Nets found themselves trailing 51-38 with 3:27 left in the first half and went up 26-4 after the break to force overtime.
Brooklyn went into the locker room trailing by just three points.
Dorian Finney-Smith then scored the winning goal from the right corner, making it 64-55 with nine minutes left.
The Nets led by nine points multiple times, but fell behind 70-62 after Johnson's layup with 7:07 left in the third.
Thomas was ejected early in the game for forcing a careless shot, but committed multiple turnovers in Philadelphia's 15-2 win.
The second came on a breakaway dunk by Maxey, cutting Brooklyn's lead to 70-69, but Jordi Fernandez called a timeout and lifted Thomas for Jalen Wilson.
Reggie Jackson scored on a 3-pointer, and Brooklyn was down 77-72 at the 2:36 mark of the third.
The fourth game was a back-and-forth affair, with a final 9-0 run clinching the victory.
