The Philadelphia 76ers scraped out a win on Saturday afternoon against the Brooklyn Nets
The undermanned Philadelphia 76ers (36-31) barely took down the Brooklyn Nets (17-50) on Saturday afternoon, 104-97.
The 76ers were without Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, Paul George, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Andre Drummond for this matchup. Brooklyn was also without a plethora of key contributors, including forward Michael Porter Jr. and big man Nic Claxton.
The first half was all Philadelphia, as it led 53-31 at halftime behind a strong first quarter from V.J. Edgecombe and an all-around solid team effort.
The second half is where the game took a turn for the worst for the Sixers, as the Nets outscored them 25-24 in the third quarter and 41-27 in the fourth. Luckily, the 76ers were able to hold on.
Guard Quentin Grimes was the team's leading scorer, tallying a season-high 28 points to go along with eight rebounds, four assists, and a steal on 45.5% shooting and 1 of 6 shooting from three-point range in 34 minutes of action. With the stars out of the lineup for Philadelphia, Grimes has been picking up his level of production.
Starters Justin Edwards and Adem Bona also had solid outings.
The former recorded 19 points, four rebounds, three steals, and two blocks on 9 of 13 shooting in 31 minutes while the latter finished with nine points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks on 40% shooting. Bona was the only center available for the Sixers.
Edgecombe had a rather underwhelming day after his 10-point opening quarter, ending with 16 points, seven assists, and four rebounds on 6 of 13 shooting. The hope is the rookie will become more aggressive as time goes on.
For Brooklyn, it was efficient shooting from three-point range that kept them in this game. The Nets knocked down 50% of their shots from the arc in the third quarter and 53.8% in the final quarter.
Rookie Danny Wolf finished as their leading scorer with 15 points on 4 of 9 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds and two assists.
The 76ers return to action on Sunday evening to face the Portland Trail Blazers.
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