Doc Rivers masterfully guided the Philadelphia 76ers to a 123-117 statement win over the Brooklyn Nets at Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday. Although the Nets were greatly undermanned without the services of Kevin Durant, James Harden, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Blake Griffin, most pundits still believe the game was a potential Eastern Conference Finals preview.
After the match, Rivers addressed this possibility, claiming the Sixers will be ready to take on the Nets once they get their key players back (via Noah Levick of NBCS Philly).
“When the playoffs start, it's a whole new beast. We'll be ready for them, and I'm sure they'll be ready for us.”
Against a compromised Nets frontline, Sixers superstar Joel Embiid feasted underneath with game-highs of 39 points and 13 rebounds, outdueling Kyrie Irving who finished with 37 points for the visitors. The Sixers once again shared the wealth, as Tobias Harris had 26 points while Ben Simmonds pitched in 17 markers and nine assists.
The Nets did not go away quietly though and stayed within striking distance for 48 minutes. They even outscored the Sixers in the final quarter, but their comeback bid still fell short. With the win, the Rivers and his wards reclaimed the solo lead in the Eastern Conference with a 38-17 win-loss slate, breaking the tie with the Nets.
Rivers and company also won their season series against the Nets, two games to one.
If both teams can hang on to the top two spots (and evade possible upsets in the NBA Playoffs) they will be in a collision course once more in the ECF. And hopefully, as Doc Rivers said, both teams are fully stacked by then.
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