Without Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday had no problem getting by the Philadelphia 76ers, cruising to a 122-109 victory.
Joe Harris led the Nets with a team-high 28 points off the bench, while Caris LeVert added 22 points and Jarrett Allen had 15. The Nets led by as many as 18 points in the second half despite playing without Durant, who is in the COVID-19 health and safety protocol, and Irving, because of personal reasons.
The Sixers were led by Shake Milton, who scored 24 points, and Joel Embiid, who added 20 points. Philadelphia played sloppily throughout the contest, committing 20 turnovers, which resulted in 30 points for Brooklyn. The 76ers’ star players failed to lead the way, and the team played loose on defense, culminating with a disappointing loss.
However, Philadelphia saw a bright spot off the bench: Rookie Tyrese Maxey produced a career-high 16 points. He added three rebounds, two assists, one steal and one blocked shot in 21 minutes of action while he went 7-of-12 from the field.
“He played great,” 76ers head coach Doc Rivers said after the game. “I thought he was the one guy that came in the game with great energy and tried to run stuff for us. So, very happy with him.”
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The performance by Maxey and the result of the contest will ultimately end up as a footnote after guard Seth Curry reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus just before the start of the game. He did not play due to an ankle injury and immediately left the arena to isolate upon news of the test.
The team is quarantining in New York and was set to conduct a new set of tests on its players ahead of a Saturday matchup in Philadelphia against the Denver Nuggets.
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