By: Kylan Watson

Despite an earlier team meeting with Ben Simmons and some progress being made with that situation. The Philadelphia 76ers faced the Brooklyn Nets in their home opener. The Nets played like an angry squad as a late game offensive surge would rock Philly, and lead to their first loss of the season 114-109.

Philly jumped on the Nets from the opening tip off. They got out to an early lead as they were taking advantage of some easy opportunities. Whether that was from the perimeter,  the three-point line, or the paint. They were powered by forward Tobias Harris(23-points) and guard Seth Curry (23-points) who combined for 46 of their 109-points.

The Nets had no answers for them. Especially Harris who could not be stopped. He got what he wanted from the perimeter and made Brooklyn pay for some lax defense on him. Curry also played like a man possessed. He made four three-pointers and when Brooklyn dared to take the three-point line away from him. He attacked the paint.

It has only been two games in this young season.  However, Curry has been way more consistent in taking his shot. He would let the game come to him last year. So far this season he has taken full advantage of his opportunities from beyond the arc. He also has shown improved defensive play. Both will be important as he will be called upon to do more on both sides of the ball without Ben Simmons in the line-up.

Unfortunately for Philly, Brooklyn continued to hang around and they would make Philly pay for some late game mistakes. The Sixers took some ill-advised shots which resulted in them only scoring one-point in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter. That power outage would allow Kevin Durant to will his team back.  He scored 29-points and hit some clutch shots late in the game. To help his team take their first lead of the game. They would not look back as they got their first win of the season.

On the late-game offense, “You see it in the playoffs too. That’s where you need elite shot creators… In the future I think we’ll be fine,” said Embiid

Philly now will get a day off to look over their mistakes as they prepare for the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night. The Sixers will need to improve on the defensive end and get some more consistent play. Especially in the fourth quarter when Embiid, Harris, and Curry are resting. They will need to find a fourth scorer to take some pressure off them.