From nearly the second the ball tipped off on Sunday afternoon, the Brooklyn Nets looked destined to lose. A difficult matchup with the 76ers was highlighted by a season-long issue defending over screens against perimeter shooters. With no Dennis Smith Jr. or Ben Simmons, the Nets defensively found themselves a step slow on defensive assignments - consistently exposed to Joel Embiid as both a scorer and table setter.

Mikal Bridges, after putting together a 16-point first half, also continued his inconsistent performances as he failed to take another shot until under one minute remaining in the third quarter. Despite another excellent game from Lonnie Walker IV, this was was the first game in 2023 where Brooklyn simply got handled, and will need to rebound on Wednesday against Atlanta.

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