The Philadelphia 76ers have had legends play for them. Wilt Chamberlain, Charles Barkley, and Allen Iverson are some of the great Sixers from the past. However, the 76ers of 2019 broke a record with a show of offensive dominance over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night:
The Sixers ended Game 2 of their first-round NBA playoff series with a whopping 145 points. They were obviously not short on contributors. Joel Embiid scored 23 points, Tobias Harris scored 19, and Ben Simmons chipped in 18. By the end of the game, six Sixers had scored in double figures. Every Philly player who played managed to score.
It wasn't really a shock to see the Sixers perform this way. During the regular season, they averaged the second most points per game as a team in the league (121.0), just behind the Houston Rockets.
The Brooklyn Nets weren't too shabby on the offensive end; Spencer Dinwiddie scored 19 off the bench, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored 15 in only 19 minutes. However, D'Angelo Russell had a subpar game, putting in only 16 points, five below his season average.
The real letdown for the Nets was at the defensive end. It seemed the Sixers could get a bucket whenever they wanted to in the second half. Embiid bullied Jarrett Allen. Simmons was superb in both distributing the ball to open teammates and finishing at the rim.
The series is now tied 1-1, and the Nets have stolen home-court advantage. The advantage won't last long, however, if they don't find a way to slow down the offensive juggernaut that is the Sixers.