The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Brooklyn Nets 137-133 on Wednesday in a duel marked by the hostile reception of their former figure Ben Simmons, while the Bucks beat some Nuggets orphaned by Nikola Jokic.
Simmons has lost both games against the Sixers since the Sixers agreed to trade him to the Nets a year ago.
As happened in his first return in November, the Australian received boos from his former fans in each of his actions and, although he was left without scoring in the entire first half, he improved after the break and finished with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
Although they were not marked directly, sparks flew in each clash between Simmons and Cameroonian Joel Embiid, the great star of the Sixers, who had 26 points and 10 rebounds.
The point guard and the center formed a duo for four seasons that excited Philadelphia fans until, after feeling blamed for one of the many disappointments in the playoffs, Simmons refused to play for months with the Sixers until he was traded at the beginning of 2022 to Brooklyn.
In exchange for the Australian, number one in the 2016 Draft and a three-time All-Star, the Sixers received James Harden, who on Wednesday signed 23 points and 7 assists against his former team.
The top scorers of the night were two Nets players, reserve guard Seth Curry, with 32 points and 7 triples, and point guard Kyrie Irving, with 30 points and 10 assists.
The tension was breathed on the Wells Fargo Center track from the first minute in which Embiid went directly to the clash with Simmons to the satisfaction of the stands.
Extra motivated, the Cameroonian also fought hard against the young center Nic Claxton, who surpassed his best scoring mark with 25 points.
The officials called techniques for Embiid and Claxton for an intense argument and two others before the first quarter was even over.
The Nets, still without star Kevin Durant, trailed on the scoreboard and trailed by as many as 17 points but never gave up.
With a more aggressive version of Simmons, who saw another technique for a push on George Niang, the Nets accelerated in the fourth quarter to force a tight finish.
Some genius from Irving and a layup from Japan’s Yuta Watanabe brought the Nets within 135-133 with just 13 seconds left, but Embiid’s steal from Royce O’Neal secured the victory for the Sixers, who are second in the Eastern Conference.
In another of the ten games on Wednesday, the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Denver Nuggets, the leaders of the West, 107-99.
The Greek Giannis Antetokounmpo took control of the game, with 33 points and 14 rebounds, taking advantage of the absence of the Serbian Nikola Jokic, the MVP of the league, due to hamstring problems.
The return of the day was that of forward Brandon Ingram, who had not put on the New Orleans Pelicans uniform for two months due to an injury to his left foot.
Ingram stayed at 13 points for some Pelicans who fell 111-102 against the Minnesota Timberwolves of young Anthony Edwards, who shone with 37 points, and French center Rudy Gobert, who reached 17 points and 12 rebounds in his return after three games low.
In Oklahoma City, the Thunder lost 137-132 in a fast-paced duel between two of the best young point guards in the league. Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 36 points and 7 assists for the Thunder and Trae Young another 33 and 11 for Atlanta.
Wednesday’s day also included the visit of the San Antonio Spurs to the Los Angeles Lakers, in which the recently signed Rui Hachimura made his debut and Anthony Davis returned after more than a month stopped due to a right foot injury.
– Results of Wednesday in the NBA:
Orlando Magic – Indiana Pacers 126-120
Philadelphia 76ers – Brooklyn Nets 137-133
Houston Rockets – Washington Wizards 103-108
Milwaukee Bucks – Denver Nuggets 107-99
New Orleans Pelicans – Minnesota Timberwolves 102-111
Oklahoma City Thunder – Atlanta Hawks 132-137
In Game:
Golden State Warriors – Memphis Grizzlies
Portland Trail Blazers – Utah Jazz
Sacramento Kings – Toronto Raptors
LA Lakers – San Antonio Spurs
gbv/gfe
