Even without two of their biggest stars in Joel Embiid and Paul George, the Philadelphia 76ers still successfully ended their miserable start after beating the Brooklyn Nets on November 23, 113-98.
The Sixers, who have been riddled with injuries and disappointing losses, leaned on the production of their young backcourt, Jared McCain and Tyrese Maxey. The duo propelled Philly in the fourth quarter to take a bigger lead en route to their much-needed win.
Is Jaren McCain Making a Clear Case for RoY?
McCain is cementing his claim to the Rookie of the Year award after going for 30 points on 6-11 shooting from three-point land. Maxey also came back stronger after a two-game slump following his return from injury, gathering 26 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. All other starters also scored double digits: Caleb Martin (10), Guerschon Yabusele (10), and Kelly Oubre Jr. (11).
The Sixers announced during the third quarter that Embiid was out again due to nagging injuries. George, on the other hand, will also miss a few more games after another knee injury.
On the other hand, Cameron Johnson was just a point shy from tying his career-high in points after getting buckets against the Sixers. He finished with 37 points, including 9 triples. Aside from Cam Thomas who chipped in 18 points, it was clear as day that Brooklyn needed more help from their young players. One of the lowlights of the game was Ben Simmons missing a wide-open layup, which immediately went viral.
The Sixers and the Nets will be facing each other again three more times next year.
