Brooklyn's Battered Nets Blown Out by 76ers at Barclays, Drop to 13-22

The injuries continue to pile up.

Jan 4, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard D'Angelo Russell (1) looks on during the first half against the Philadelphia 76ers at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Fresh off an impressive victory over the Milwaukee Bucks that was full of late-game dramatics, the Brooklyn Nets followed up the home win with a 123-94 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at the Barclays Center. Jordi Fernandez's crew was presented with a tough task pre-game following the announcement that they'd be without three pivotal pieces — on top of Joel Embiid being listed as active.

Missing Cam Thomas, Cam Johnson and Ben Simmons all to injury, D'Angelo Russell led a lethal Nets' offensive attack...for the opening minute and a half.

Brooklyn jumped out to a quick 11-0 lead behind triples from Russell and Ziaire Williams, which would be the lone positive moment from the entire game.

Jan 4, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Andre Drummond (5) dunks the ball during the first half in front of Brooklyn Nets guard Reece Beekman (4) at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The visitors almost instantly responded with a 9-0 run of their own, spearheaded by a highly motivated Embiid after the big man was assigned an early technical foul.

Philadelphia's one-time MVP scorched Brooklyn for 17 points in the game's opening 24 minutes while receiving help from Caleb Martin (17 points) and Paul George (14 points).

Fernandez dug deep into his bag of tricks due to the bulk of his squad's scoring being in street clothes, welcoming the debut of Tosan Evbuomwan. The 23-year-old was signed just three days ago, exploded for 39 points with the Long Island Nets yesterday and made his first official NBA appearance in the ugly first half.

Alongside Evbuomwan in the backcourt was Reece Beekman, a two-way guard out of Virginia whom the Nets acquired from Golden State in the Dennis Schroder deal in the middle of last month.

Despite the excitement from fans generated by rare appearances from the young duo, one Evbuomwan three-pointer was all the two could tally through a combined 15 minutes of floortime.

Jan 4, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Caleb Martin (16) looks to pass as Brooklyn Nets forward Tosan Evbuomwan (12) defends during the first half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Williams capped off his 12 minutes of action with a team-leading eight points, but his performance didn't prevent the hosts from trailing 64-47 at the half.

During the break, Brooklyn announced on X that Russell would miss the remainder of the contest with a right shin contusion, adding to the already-crowded injury pool. The 76ers' lead eventually ballooned up to 31, signaling an early end to Saturday night in Prospect Heights.

In one of their uglier showings, the Nets' falter can be summed up in three simple stats: 22 turnovers, 32 points conceded off those miscues and 34.1% shooting from beyond the arc.

To make matters worse, Brooklyn did not record a single scorer over the 20-point threshold. A fully healthy squad likely makes this one much closer, but speculation only exists beyond the court itself.

Now 13-22 on the season, the Nets look toward two straight home matchups with the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons next week in an attempt to find some sort of momentum early in the new year.

To access the final box score from the Nets' loss to the 76ers, click here.

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