The Philadelphia 76ers faced off against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night in a highly anticipated matchup for various reasons. The game had many storylines including James Harden facing the Nets for the first time since being traded back on February 10th. In addition this was Ben Simmons first time coming back to Philadelphia this season after sitting out the season and requesting a trade from Philadelphia and citing mental health problems preventing him from playing for them. Ben Simmons did not play in the game but he did sit on the bench.
The game turned into a blowout win for the Brooklyn Nets 129 to 100. The game was over pretty much at halftime the Nets were up 21 points. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving had excellent games; Durant dropped 25 points and 14 rebounds, Irving poured 22 points and 5 assists. Joel Embiid struggled from the field 5 for 17 but still managed to produce 27 points. James Harden on the other hand struggled all night 3 for 17 from the field for just 11 points.
The biggest takeaways from this game are that the Nets will always have a chance with Durant and Kyrie playing together. This makes the current Vaccine Mandate in New York City crucial due to the fact that Irving would be eligible to play in just 1 of their last 8 games this season.
In addition, James Harden has once again in a big time game so he will have to perform better in their litmus test against the Miami Heat on March 21st. Lastly the Sixers' bench will likely be whats holds them back from winning a championship if their production does not improve.
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