The Philadelphia 76ers had no business knocking off the visiting Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday. The Sixers were without their three best players, Joel Embiid, James Harden and Tyrese Maxey, and they lost Matisse Thybulle, a key rotation piece, in the second half.
The Nets featured Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and former Sixers three-time All-Star Ben Simmons. This seemed like it was going to be a cakewalk for the Nets, who jumped to a 10-2 lead by getting into the paint with ease and taking advantage of the talent gap.
Instead, the Sixers dug deep and rallied to win. Tobias Harris and De’Anthony Melton had big games offensively, and Paul Reed filled in for Embiid by going for 19 points and 10 rebounds. It was an impressive win for the short-handed team.
NBA Twitter was ablaze with reactions after the Sixers came away victorious.