Nets Blowout 76ers 109-89

Brooklyn uses defense to get revenge over last year's playoff opponent.

In the second half of a back to back the Nets get an impressive 109-89 win against one of the East’s best, 76ers. Spencer Dinwiddie led the way with 24 points and six assists.

Brooklyn shared the scoring load with three starters scoring in double digits and the bench dropping 40 points (eight more than their average by the way). This came as a result of coach Atkinson emptying out his entire roster for this matchup.

The bench contributions didn’t stop there though. They shot 45% from the field, just like the starters and also grabbed 35 of the Nets’ 51 rebounds.

Another bright spot in the Nets’ performance was their scoring in the paint. 76ers’ Joel Embiid was out of today’s game after picking up an upper respiratory illness over the weekend. So that directly translated to the Nets scoring 64 points in the paint, which is 13 more than their average.

The Nets also had their way in transition, scoring 23 fast break points, nearly doubling their average.

The Nets’ defense was also locked in from start to finish, particularly their perimeter defense. They held the 76ers to 19.2% from behind the arc. They average holding teams to 36.7% from three-point range.

“We got stops man. At the end of the day we talked about that 100-point mark, to hold them to 11 less than that it’s big time for us,” said Dinwiddie. “It gave us a chance to win.”

The Nets’ defense not only gave them a chance to win, it also kept the game out of reach for most of the contest. The game was close for most of the first quarter, ending 28-23, Nets. Since then however the Nets kept their foot on the gas. Brooklyn even led by 26 at one point and there were only three ties and four lead changes when it was all said and done, obviously all taking place in the first quarter before the Nets blew this game wide open.

“I felt it in our little walkthrough. I don’t think any of us were pleased with our performance last night. Sometimes you just feel a tension. I felt like they were ready. One of our best defensive performances since I’ve been here,” said Head Coach Kenny Atkinson. “Collective, first group, second group. They’re a good offensive team…so just excellent defensive effort.”