EIGHTY-SIXERS
Nets turn up defensive pressure, run Philly out of building
After Friday’s hideous display against the Rockets, the Nets vowed to tighten up their defense. Two days later, they tightened it up and put a beating on the Sixers in a 122-97 laugher before 12,826 at Barclays Center.
The Nets forced turnover after turnover, harassed Philadelphia into mistake after mistake. They forced 28 turnovers — the most in the NBA this season, and their highest total since March 7, 2014. And they cashed in, turning them into 39 points.
“Our defense had slipped a little and I’m glad the guys responded. Our defense was excellent all around, so credit to the players for bouncing back,” coach Kenny Atkinson said.
“We just wanted to get out to a good start. We knew they were coming off the back-to-back ... so we just wanted to get out to a good start defensively,” said Caris LeVert, who had 20 points, five rebounds and four steals, including two in the 11-0 third-quarter run that broke a 61-61 tie — and the Sixers (6-5). “We can control games by our defense, even if our shots aren’t falling. That’s something last year that we didn’t have. Last year when we weren’t hitting shots we were in trouble.”
D’Angelo Russell, after having been benched in the final period of the previous two games, had 21 points to share game-high scoring honors with Rondae HollisJefferson. It was Hollis-Jefferson’s best game of the season, with he and LeVert energizing what had been a low-intensity defense.
“[LeVert] set the tone defensively with his activity. He was all over the place. He was getting deflections,” said Atkinson, whose team had a season-high 11 steals. “I talked to him before the game. The challenge for him is to be really good on both ends. We don’t want him to just be a one-way player. He’s got a lot of talent, a lot of responsibility comes with that. But I was really pleased with his defensive effort. He was really good on both ends.
“Having Rondae back in the lineup, that helps, getting more active players. We went from a low-activity game against the Rockets to we were just much more active. ... It’s something we talked about before the season.”
After finishing dead last in forcing turnovers last season, the Nets (4-6) had climbed to 21st this season. Sunday will only help.
In a game knotted at 61-61 after Landry Shamet’s 3, the Nets blew it open with an 11-0 run behind LeVert, Russell and Joe Harris.
Harris had six points in the run, Russell added five points and two assists, and LeVert sparked it without scoring — his two steals setting the tone.
Harris opened the run with a 3, and after LeVert stole the ball from Mike Muscala, Russell hit a floater to make the score 66-61. LeVert notched another theft against Shamet, and found Russell for a 3. Russell capped the run by finding Harris for a 3 that made it 72-61 with 5:30 left in the third.
“We wanted to close them out in that third,” LeVert said. “We knew it could go either way ... and we wanted to throw the first punch there.”
They padded the cushion to 92-73 before the end of the period on Hollis-Jefferson’s bucket, and to 27 before the game ended.
“We talked about before the game, closing a really good team out, that’s the tough part. We handled that,” Atkinson said.
“Just denying, helping out guys ... getting in the passing lanes, stuff like that,” Russell said. “As far as getting in the passing lane, anticipating passes and anticipating their plays, we did a good job of that.”
Ben Simmons had 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Sixers, but the Nets held him to a season-low three assists and Joel Embiid to a season-low eight shots.