PHILADELPHIA — Nets Lineup Shows Commitment to Tanking
The Brooklyn Nets appear to be embracing a unique approach to the rest of their season. Their bench nearly achieved a bittersweet victory against the Philadelphia 76ers, but ultimately fell short, losing 104-97 in front of 18,418 fans at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Interestingly, the Nets had once led by as much as 28 points and later held a 21-point advantage. Their bench even managed to surge to a brief lead against the Sixers, coming out on top 31-9 in that span.
But the situation was complicated. Playing without Michael Porter Jr., Egor Demmin, and Dayron Sharpe, Brooklyn let the Sixers go on a 6-0 run that they couldn’t recover from.
Josh Minott was the standout performer for the Nets, contributing 14 points off the bench.
With this loss, Brooklyn (17-50) now finds itself tied with Washington for third place in the lottery race. They sit two games behind Indiana and one game behind Sacramento.
The Pacers, who have the second-easiest schedule, and the Wizards, who rank third, have made clear their intentions to tank. Just last month, the Pacers received a $100,000 fine for resting a starter, while the Wizards announced that Anthony Davis would not participate for the remainder of the season.
It seems the Nets are following suit, albeit slowly. They kicked off the game against the Sixers poorly, trailing 29-16 after the first quarter and finding themselves down 53-31 at halftime, their poorest first-half effort of the season.
Things continued to go awry in the second half when VJ Edgecombe sank a mid-range shot, pushing the Nets down to a daunting 67-39 deficit.
Yet, as if out of nowhere, Brooklyn ended the third quarter with a powerful comeback, launching a 31-9 run that handed them an 87-86 lead with just over three minutes left on the clock.
Rookie Danny Wolf was among the few regulars who received significant minutes. Meanwhile, two-way forward EJ Liddell, who performed impressively in limited time with a plus-18 rating in just 11 minutes, made a crucial 3-pointer followed by a dunk to help close the gap.
Malachi Smith, recently signed on a 10-day contract, also came through, making a putback that brought Brooklyn within 86-81 with just under five minutes remaining. After a miss from Quentin Grimes, Liddell and Tyson Etienne fired back-to-back threes to temporarily pull Brooklyn ahead.
The Nets had a fleeting lead at 87-86, but ultimately, they couldn’t keep it together. Starting with a free throw from Adem Bona, the Sixers converted on six free throws as Brooklyn struggled to respond, falling behind 92-87.
