Cam Thomas scored 40 points, Mikal Bridges added 23 and the visiting Brooklyn Nets handily defeated the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers 136-121 on Saturday.
Lonnie Walker IV contributed 20 points, Cameron Johnson scored 13 and Nic Claxton had 12 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots for Brooklyn.
The Nets’ Ben Simmons, a former Sixer, was booed every time he touched the ball. Simmons finished with nine rebounds and five assists in 14 minutes without attempting a shot.
The 76ers played without reigning MVP Joel Embiid, who sat out with a left meniscus injury. The severity of the injury and length of Embiid’s absence is not yet known.
Philadelphia was also missing Tobias Harris (illness) and role players De’Anthony Melton (back), Nicolas Batum (hamstring) and Robert Covington (knee).
Tyrese Maxey, who scored a career-best 51 points in the Sixers’ last game — against the Utah Jazz — led the way with 23 on Saturday. Terquavion Smith had a career-high 17 points, Kelly Oubre Jr. had 16 and KJ Martin and Jaden Springer chipped in with 11 apiece.
Philadelphia’s frustration boiled over with 8:38 remaining in the fourth quarter when Patrick Beverley was assessed two technical fouls and ejected with the 76ers trailing 111-88.
The Nets extended their lead to 125-95 just under three minutes later and never looked back as they cruised to the win.
Brooklyn led 38-22 at the end of the first quarter and pulled ahead by as many as 25 in the second before going into the locker room with a 67-51 advantage.
Bridges paced the Nets with 17 points and Brooklyn shot 54.5 percent from the field, including 12 of 26 from 3-point range, before the break.
Maxey paced the Sixers with 16 first-half points.
Walker grabbed an offensive rebound and scored for an 87-65 Brooklyn lead with 5:34 left in the third quarter. After an empty Sixers possession, Johnson threw down a dunk for a 24-point advantage.
Brooklyn led 105-82 at the end of the third.
–Field Level Media
