Ben Simmons briefly woke from his offensive slumber, however it wasn’t sufficient as James Harden took the spoils of their first assembly since buying and selling NBA locations.
Simmons’ Brooklyn fell 137-133 to Harden’s 76ers in Philadelphia on Wednesday night time, the Nets the primary NBA crew since 1982 to shoot at 64.5 per cent from the sector and lose.
Only one crew within the historical past of the NBA have shot the ball higher and misplaced, with Chicago doing it twice within the 1981 season.
Simmons copped lots in his return to Philadelphia, simply as he did on his first go to in November after a drawn-out commerce request noticed him exit the town as public enemy No.1.
Harden did not play in that recreation, however he made up for it with 23 factors and 7 assists on Wednesday night time.
His two three-pointers and a driving help within the ultimate 4 minutes had been essential after the Nets got here from 17 factors behind to stage.
Simmons (12 factors, 5 assists, 5 rebounds), who entered this week with extra fouls dedicated than discipline objectives, was scoreless, with only one discipline aim try in a tepid first half.
He produced a barnstorming third quarter that yielded 10 factors, together with a driving floater on the buzzer to breathe life into the Nets.
Seth Curry (season-high 32 factors) – one other former 76ers star – then took up the slack after Simmons copped a technical foul and was benched.
Curry and Kyrie Iving (30 factors) had been the drivers of a 18-4 run that allowed the Nets to tie the sport, earlier than Harden steered the hosts house.
Joel Embiid had 26 factors in his first conflict with former teammate Simmons.
The Nets have misplaced 5 of the previous seven video games with out Kevin Durant.
In Oklahoma, Trae Young had 33 factors and 11 assists to assist Atlanta beat the Thunder 137-132, regardless of Australian second-year expertise Josh Giddey’s 16 factors, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 36 factors however, down by two with 15 seconds left, had a shot blocked after which missed one other try to seal the outcome.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 factors and 14 rebounds because the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the short-handed Denver Nuggets at house 107-99, Joe Ingles (5 factors, two steals, one help) incomes 27 minutes of courtroom time.
