NEW YORK — The Philadelphia 76ers stepped on the hardwood on Monday night to play an opponent for the first time in the preseason. That opponent was the Brooklyn Nets, who pose a threat led by Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons.
The Sixers made a big statement in the opening quarter, building a 19-point lead and holding the Nets to 26 points, on their way to a 127-108 win on the road.
Philadelphia was swarming on defense and it had significant success on offense, led by their starting backcourt of De’Anthony Melton and Tyrese Maxey. Melton, making his Sixers debut, shot 2-for-10 from the floor, but he had three steals. He was terrific on the defensive end.
“I thought defensively, No. 1, De’Anthony, as you can see, he just gets his hands, he’s so active,” said coach Doc Rivers. “He’s just a solid defensive player, he knows how to play. I like the pace that both of them played with. We got the ball. I thought the first six or eight minutes offensively, we were phenomenal. Then after that, I thought we started chasing shots as a team a little bit more, but first eight minutes, the defense was great and the ball movement was phenomenal.”
Melton’s defense combined with Maxey’s offensive prowess allowed Philadelphia to have offensive success early. The two played with pace, and that’s going to be a big key for the Sixers.
“I think us two out there on the court is gonna be very high-paced,” said Melton. “Especially, just for me being able to create turnovers and him out there, too. He’s definitely taking on more of a role on the defensive end and in training camp and stuff like that so getting out there, moving the ball, shooting 3s, I think us two on the court, I think that’s gonna happen a lot this year.”
The Sixers received a taste of what a Melton and Maxey backcourt duo can do on Monday. Now they want to take this success and build on it.
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