PHILADELPHIA — The Nets desired to throw the seedings out the window of their first-round matchup against the 76ers, but Philadelphia showed Saturday why they’re considered Eastern Conference contenders and the Nets distinct underdogs — even when head coach Jacque Vaughn refuses to make use of the word.
After a primary half by which the Nets hung tough, thanks largely to the play of Mikal Bridges, the standard of the third-seeded 76ers’ roster took over because the game wore on in a 121-101 win in Game 1 of the primary round of the playoffs at Wells Fargo Center.
Even with the sixth-seeded Nets red-hot from the ground, they couldn’t match Joel Embiid and James Harden — despite a game-high 30 points from Bridges.
Embiid ended up with 26 points and Harden had 23 points and 13 assists.
What was a six-point deficit late within the second quarter grew nine by the half and the Sixers pulled away within the fourth quarter.
After winning all 4 meetings between the 2 teams this season, the 76ers showed again why they’re expected to have little trouble with the Nets, who played well after the departures of All-Stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, but are actually with none All-Stars.
