NEW YORK — The Sixers failed to finish off their first three-game winning streak since late January.
Despite leading by as many as 14 points, they suffered a 112-107 defeat Tuesday night to the Nets at Barclays Center.
Kelly Oubre Jr. (season-high 30 points, six rebounds, four assists) and Tobias Harris (18 points, nine boards, four assists) were the team’s top producers.
Dorian Finney-Smith and Dennis Schröder scored 20 points apiece for the Nets, who improved to 25-37.
Sixers All-Stars Tyrese Maxey (mild concussion) and Joel Embiid (left knee meniscus procedure) were each sidelined. De’Anthony Melton (lumbar spine bone stress) and Robert Covington (left knee bone bruise) remained out, too.
Brooklyn was down Cam Thomas, Ben Simmons, Day’Ron Sharpe and Dariq Whitehead. Cam Johnson suffered a right ankle sprain in the second quarter and did not return.
The 35-26 Sixers will wrap up their back-to-back with a matchup Wednesday night vs. the Grizzlies at Wells Fargo Center. Here are observations on their loss to the Nets:
Lowry helps guide Sixers to hot start
The Sixers began the night with a unit of Kyle Lowry, Cameron Payne, Buddy Hield, Harris and Mo Bamba.
In his third straight start, Bamba began brightly. He scored the Sixers’ first basket on a jump hook over Nic Claxton and their third on a put-back lay-in.
“We recently have played against teams that are very similar … where their tallest center or their most at-the-rim guy starts, and then they come in with a smaller (center),” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said pregame. “The backup’s a small-ball guy or a little bit smaller version. So that’s part of why we started doing it, and it just so happens that it’s the third game in a row where we’re probably going to look the same.”
Nurse indeed used Paul Reed when the Nets turned to small-ball five options. Bamba’s level of play tailed off and he wound up playing only 12 minutes. KJ Martin and Harris handled center minutes in the fourth quarter before Reed subbed back in with a little over three minutes left.
Claxton was clearly the night’s best big man, notching 17 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks, and the Sixers continued to sorely miss Embiid. They’ve gone 6-9 overall since his knee injury.
Payne’s first stint in each half was very short — a shade under three minutes. He estimated that he was at “75, 80” percent health, but Payne wanted to “fight through” the illness that kept him out of the Sixers’ victory Sunday against the Mavs.
He was able to play 23 minutes and scored 15 points on 5-for-10 shooting.
“Go as hard as I can, then come out and tell them when I was ready again,” he said. “That’s the conversation we had, and we executed it during the game.”
Starting guards Payne, Lowry and Hield all made early three-point shots. With Lowry in charge of the offense, the Sixers grabbed a 13-5 edge and opened 7 for 8 from the floor.
While Lowry has plenty of savvy tools, his excellent fundamentals are a giant reason why he’s still starting NBA games at almost 38 years old. He’s always looking up, eager to throw the ball ahead, and probing for windows to exploit against a slightly sleepy defense.
Dowtin debuts
The Sixers were strong to close the first quarter, elevating their defensive level considerably. Nicolas Batum blocked a Trendon Watford three-point attempt on the Nets’ last possession of the period.
Martin checked in to start the second quarter and Jeff Dowtin Jr. soon joined him.
While it’s rare for a recent two-way contract signing to debut outside of garbage time, Dowtin is relatively experienced for a player in that position. He’s a 26-year-old guard who’s been a reliable, low-turnover player in the G League and impressed Nurse with his defense last season on the Raptors.
“I’m going to just seize every moment, seize every opportunity possible,” Dowtin said Tuesday…
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