The 76ers (53-28), who produced an impressive 15-point comeback win in Atlanta on Friday with their top-six rotation players out of the lineup, conclude their regular season slate by visiting the Brooklyn Nets (45-36) on Sunday afternoon.
The Nets secured the No. 6 seed in the East on Friday, setting up a first-round playoff matchup with the No. 3 Sixers.
Brooklyn hosted Orlando on Friday and won, 101-84. In 26 games since being traded to the Nets from Phoenix, Mikal Bridges is averaging a team-best 27.2 points per game. The 26-year-old Philadelphia native scored a game-high 22 points against the Magic, despite shooting just 7-for-24 from the field and 1-for-12 from 3-point range.
The Sixers played their last game without five starters in James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, P.J. Tucker, and Joel Embiid, plus primary sixth-man De’Anthony Melton.
As of Saturday evening, the injury report for Sunday included all six of those players as out once again, and Georges Niang (left knee soreness) as questionable. Nine Nets players appeared on the report: Seth Curry (out - left ankle soreness injury management), Dorian Finney-Smith (out - right wrist contusion injury management), Cameron Johnson (out - right knee soreness), Royce O’Neale (out - left knee soreness), Ben Simmons (out - back nerve impingement), Nic Claxton (questionable - rest), Spencer Dinwiddie (questionable - rest), Joe Harris (questionable - rest), Edmond Sumner (questionable - right hip contusion).
The regular season series between the Sixers and Nets favors Philadelphia, 3-0, with all three meetings decided by single digits. On Feb. 11 in Brooklyn, Embiid led all scorers with 37 points and 13 rebounds in a 101-98 victory. James Harden added 29 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Bridges led the Nets with 23 points.
The shorthanded Sixers got contributions across the roster in their road win over the Hawks last time out. In Friday’s 136-131 overtime victory, the Sixers received 24-point efforts from both Jalen McDaniels and Georges Niang to lead the team. Niang scored eight points (3-3 fg, 2-2 3fg) in the overtime period alone.
“At the beginning, we came out and knew we were playing to win, not playing for stats,” McDaniels said. “We were playing to play the right way, and that's what we did. Came out, played hard, got stops, and executed with the guys we had. J-Spring [Jaden Springer], he just came back from the G League and fit right in... He did his thing. We were all locked in just having fun out there. Having fun and flying around.”
Springer and the Delaware Blue Coats clinched the NBA G League championship the night before, with the 20-year-old taking home the Finals MVP award. Joining the NBA club in Atlanta was a quick turnaround for Springer and his fellow Sixers teammates who played with the Blue Coats, two-way contract players Mac McClung (five points) and Louis King.
“It was good,” Springer said. “Going into the game, I didn't know what to expect. I just knew I was going to try and go out there, go hard, and compete. The results came out like I wanted them to. We got the dub and that's all that really matters.”
Those results included some clutch buckets for the second-year pro.
Springer tied the score twice in the final minute of regulation with a high-arcing swish from the right block and then a soaring putback dunk less than 30 seconds later. He also went head-to-head with two-time NBA All-Star Trae Young for much of the night, and stopped him on the final possession to force overtime.
“He was great, he was great defensively, stayed within his role,” 76ers Head Coach Doc Rivers said of Springer. “He did the little things. Ran a play down the stretch - that last play - for him to slip to get to the bucket. That's why the guys on the bench went nuts, because we ran a play for [Springer] and he executed it. He did a couple of things like that all game, so I was really proud of him. Loved that he pulled up twice for 3 with confidence, because that's his next step. Defensively, I'm just going to keep saying it, he's an NBA defender. He makes plays, he rebounds the ball, he does a lot of little things.”
“I told our coaches 'I don't know if we can win this game or not, but this is an important game for our role players,'” Rivers added. “To come out and prove that they're good basketball players, and start feeling good. Going into the playoffs, wins like this are huge for you.”
Sunday’s contest is a 1 p.m. ET afternoon tipoff in Brooklyn.
Friday’s Top Performances:
All five starters (Milton, Springer, Niang, McDaniels, Reed) – and seven Sixers total – scored in double figures. The team is now 18-1 in games with at least six double-digit scorers.
76ers vs. Atlanta Hawks: Apr. 07, 2023
1 / 8ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 7: Jalen McDaniels #7 of the Philadelphia 76ers drives to the basket against the Atlanta Hawks on April 7, 2023 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
@Sixers Social:
Quote to Note:
Jaden Springer details his busy couple of days helping lead the Blue Coats to their G League title before joining the 76ers in Atlanta:
“[On Thursday], we played in Texas, so Central Time. Got over with the game around 11 [p.m.], got back to the hotel at 12 [a.m.]. Had to be up at 4:50 to head to the airport. Got on the plane - couple of flights - got here around 11:30/12, took a nap and got [to the arena] for shootaround at about 5, and got ready for this game.”
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