NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets hosted the Philadelphia 76ers at Barclays Center on Saturday for Game 4 of their first-round series and lost 96-88. Philadelphia has swept the season series 4-0.
For the Nets, Spencer Dinwiddie had 20 points and six assists while Nic Claxton had 19 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks. Mikal Bridges had 17 points and Cam Johnson had 11 points.
For the 76ers, Tobias Harris had 25 points and 12 rebounds while James Harden had 17 points and 11 assists. Tyrese Maxey had 16 points and De’Anthony Melton had 15 points off the bench.
In the first half, Brooklyn took advantage of the absence of Joel Embiid by having more success driving to the basket and racking up points in the paint. Without Embiid in the game, Brooklyn was able to switch up its defensive coverage by playing more straight-up and making Philadelphia have to earn its buckets. Nic Claxton had 15 points.
In the second half, Brooklyn ran into familiar issues with being unable to score on a consistent basis, especially in the third quarter, and having trouble rebounding the basketball. Over the course of the game, Brooklyn allowed Philadelphia to grab 15 offensive rebounds that led to 25 second-chance points. The Nets’ season ended in a disappointing way that showed the work that the team has to do in the offseason.
Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to the Nets’ season-ending loss in Game 4: