If you were to tell Brooklyn Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn that Joel Embiid and James Harden would combine for 28 points on 9-of-24 (37.5 percent) shooting in Game 2, odds are he'd be feeling good about his team's chances in the contest.

Vaughn got his wish Monday and yet Brooklyn lost by 12. The comfortable Philadelphia win despite a quiet offensive night from their two best players underscores a harsh reality for the Nets:

They don't have the shotmaking to compete in the playoffs.

Brooklyn's bricklaying display during a 96-84 defeat was a gift to an uninspired Sixers team. The Nets shot 30-of-80 (37.5 percent) from the field and 13-of-42 (31 percent) from deep on their way to a 2-0 series deficit heading back to Brooklyn.

Cam Johnson was Brooklyn's only semblance of offense Monday. The 26-year-old set a playoff career-high in the first half alone, scoring 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 from three. He capped off the half with a vicious dunk over Embiid:

But Johnson would finish with 28 points as Philadelphia paid advanced attention to him down the stretch.

 

Mikal Bridges and Spencer Dinwiddie were unable to capitalize on openings in the second half as Philadelphia reverted to a zone defense. The duo combined for 11-of-29 (37.9 percent) shooting. When Bridges and Dinwiddie were able to create advantages, Brooklyn's role players were equally underwhelming with Dorian Finney-Smith, Royce O'Neale, Seth Curry and Joe Harris combining to shoot 5-of-20 from three.

The Nets led 49-44 at the break but mustered just 35 points in the second half. Despite the offensive rut, Jacque Vaughn wasn't giving Philadelphia credit for their defense following the loss:

“The only adjustment they made was that ball didn't go in the hole for us,” he said. “We got open looks, they tried to go zone, we had enough shooting out there, the ball just didn't go in. We shot over 40 threes tonight, I can almost guarantee a lot of those looks we'll take again.”

Brooklyn took a 10-point lead in the second quarter using a small-ball lineup. Nic Claxton did not score in 21 minutes as the Nets utilized Finney-Smith and O’Neale at the five for long stretches. Vaughn rolled with that strategy in the second half, something he said led to high-quality shots that the Nets simply couldn't convert.

“The shots were wide-open,” he said of the small-ball unit. “So this is great for our guys believing in each other and spraying the ball around. We got some really good looks, whether that was penetrating at the rim, whether that was drive and kick and getting your teammates a shot.”

The Nets scored just 14 points in the third quarter, allowing the Sixers to take a five-point lead to end the frame from which they would never look back. Philadelphia spent the majority of that quarter in a zone defense. And while Vaughn said he felt his team still generated quality shots, Johnson said the defensive adjustment threw Brooklyn out of rhythm:

“They’re in that zone,  it kinda slowed us down a bit,” he said. “We only had 14 points in that 3rd quarter. In playoff games like this, when they feel like they’re getting stops, that gives them juice. It’s all about trying to take that away, so we didn’t do a good enough job at that.”

“With the zone, I was in the corner a lot. And it just kind of mucked up the game from there… I felt like we got a couple good looks that just didn’t go down, but I think it was the pace of it. We’re taking shots late in the shot clock. We’re taking deep threes. There’s an element of attacking that zone that we can improve on, and we’ll go back and watch it and see where those areas are.”

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Tyrese Maxey poured in a game-high 33 points on 6-of-13 shooting from three. The Nets primarily fronted Embiid in the first half, battling down low to take away post position. Despite success in that strategy, they reverted to doubling the MVP favorite in the third quarter, and unlike Brooklyn's supporting cast, Maxey took full advantage.

“He was the beneficiary of a lot of our rotations,” Johnson said. “He was in that corner just waiting on those threes, and those ones are tough to give up because he’s just teeing ‘em off, making ‘em. And he’s a guy that is capable, shoots a high percentage – has been shooting a high percentage – so it’s nothing that we should be surprised by. But man, they were finding him and they kinda stretched our rotations a little bit. It’s another thing that we’ve gotta go back and try to clean up.”

The Nets recognize they have to pick their poison defensively. When selling out on doubles of Embiid, someone is going to be left open. However, in an ideal world, that player is P.J. Tucker or Tobias Harris as opposed to Maxey, Philadelphia's third-best player:

“That’s not a poison you wanna pick,” Johnson added. “Maxey teeing off open threes from the corner. And so like I said, we’ll go back, look at what we’re doing and adjust. I mean, Harden was on the wrong side of that one today. Eight points and that’s what we wanna do, but in games like this, that 33 from Maxey on efficient shooting is pretty killer.”

The Nets are on the ropes heading back to Brooklyn. Vaughn's squad will take the floor Thursday night at Barclays Center as they look to keep their season alive.