Sixers sensing something special
Joel Embiid is no longer just trusting the process. Now he’s talking about the playoffs.
Embiid scored 20 points and the Philadelphia 76ers earned their 10th victory to match their total from all of lastseason,beatingtheBrooklyn Nets 105-95 on Sunday.
The76ersbrokeitopenwith a 17-2 surge in the fourth quarter to win the matchup between the NBA’s two worst teams and improve to 10-25 in their first season with former lotterypicksEmbiidandDario Saric.
The Sixers were 10-72 in 2015-16, just off their own record for worst finish in the 82-game schedule.
Embiid has looked at the standings and knows Philadelphia is eight games back of eighth place in the Eastern Conference. He believes that should be a goal.
“I think we have a chance. We’ve been hot lately,” he said. “We’ve won three out of four, so I look at it and I think we have a chance and we’re really figuring things out. We’re starting to learn how to win games.”
Embiid did his damage without even reaching the 28-minute restriction he was limited to as he recovers from a series of foot injuries that delayed his NBA debut for two years.
He left the court to chants of “Trust the Process!” in a nod to what he and others reminded fans while the Sixers staggered Sam Hinkie’s rebuilding plan.
Even as the victories come, coach Brett Brown said the building process remains most important.
“We are winning basketball games more frequently than we have been, but for us it’s still, how are we doing what we do?” Brown said.
“Are we doing our job? Are we not skipping steps? Are we putting in good days? And we believeassimpleasthatmight sound that they will add up.”
Saric added 18 points, while Robert Covington and Nik Stauskas each had 15.
Brook Lopez scored 26 points for the Nets (8-28), who have lost six in a row.
The Nets led by 11 at halftime, but the Sixers scored the first 13 points of the third quarter to take their first lead at 59-57 on a jumper by Embiid. They opened the second half with a 30-9 spurt and went into the fourth ahead 78-73.
“I just didn’t feel like that third quarter, it’s like, ‘Why isn’t our energy the same?’” Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said.
Tip-ins
76ers: Sergio Rodriguez returned after a three-game absence with a sprained left ankle, but T.J. McConnell remained the starter after recording a career-high 17 assists on Friday at Boston. Brown stopped short of saying it would stay that way long-term or even that McConnell would play the starter’s share of the minutes, but praised his play in Rodriguez’s absence.
Nets: The Nets fell to 7-2 against the 76ers at Barclays Center, their most wins against any team ... Starting forward Trevor Booker left after just three minutes of the second half with a bruised left hip, but he returned with 4:36 to play.
Musical interlude
The 76ers spent their Saturday night in New York at the Broadway musical Hamilton, winner of 11 Tony Awards in 2016 that uses hiphop music to tell the story of Alexander Hamilton and America’s founding fathers.
“Team stuff like that, growing a culture, building a program off the floor, that stuff matters to us,” Brown said.
“I think it’s just one more example of the kinds of things you try to do with a team to grow a program and grow a culture. It was a wonderful evening.”