PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Cam Thomas scored 40 points, Mikal Bridges had 23 and the Brooklyn Nets routed the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers 136-121 on Saturday night.
Philadelphia was without Joel Embiid, the reigning NBA MVP who missed his second game after sustaining a left meniscus injury Tuesday night at Golden State. Philadelphia is 4-10 in the 14 games without Embiid this season.
Lonnie Walker IV added 20 points to help Brooklyn win for the third time in four games after losing 10 of 12. Ben Simmons — the former 76ers All-Star guard who was the subject of boos every time he touched the ball in his second game as a visitor at Wells Fargo Center — failed to score and had nine rebounds and five assists in 14 minutes for the Nets.
Two nights after scoring a career-high 51 points in a victory at Utah, Tyrese Maxey had 23 points for Philadelphia on 8-for-23 shooting. Terquavion Smith had 17 points, and Kelly Oubre Jr. 16 as the 76ers lost for the fifth time in six games.
Besides Embiid, the 76ers were without starters Tobias Harris (illness) and Nicolas Batum (left hamstring tightness) in addition to key reserves DeAnthony Melton (back) and Robert Covington (left knee meniscus injury).
The Nets were able to take advantage of the short-handed lineup with crisp ball movements that left Philadelphia’s reserves scrambling. Nic Claxton took up a lot of room on the inside for Brooklyn, grabbing 15 rebounds to go along with 12 points. The Nets were 20 for 51 from 3-point range, led by 29 points and outrebounded Philadelphia 53-44.
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Nets: Host Golden State on Monday night.
76ers: Host Dallas on Monday night.
