Nets fall to 76ers in NBA Cup play despite another big night from Cam Johnson
Nets' Cam Johnson (2) goes up for a shot against Philadelphia 76ers' Caleb Martin (16) and Guerschon Yabusele (28) during the first half of an NBA Cup basketball game, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, in Philadelphia. Credit: AP/Matt Slocum
PHILADELPHIA — All Nets coach Jordi Fernandez could do was stare and cross his arms while the final seconds ticked down Friday.
A bad pass by Dennis Schroder gave 76ers center Guerschon Yabusele a basket in the final seconds. It was the Nets’ 19th turnover and the 76ers’ 16th second-chance point.
Both stats defined an ugly 113-98 loss to a 76ers team that entered Friday night’s game at Wells Fargo Center with the league’s worst record.
The mistakes and poor effort wasted another torrid shooting night by Cam Johnson. After scoring 34 in the Nets’ most recent game on Tuesday, Johnson had 37 and made a career high-tying nine three-pointers.
For the first time in his career, Johnson had a third consecutive game with at least 20 points, but it went for naught. He scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, but his fellow Nets had only eight.
Rookie Jared McCain had 30 points and Tyrese Maxey added 26 for the 76ers (3-12).
The Nets (6-10) were outscored 34-21 in the final period, leaving both teams at 1-2 in NBA Cup play. The Nets had 11 second-half turnovers against a 76ers team missing Joel Embiid (injury management) and Paul George (left knee bone bruise).
“It’s hard to win a game like that. We have to be better,” Fernandez said. “We have to find a way to respond, especially on the road, and we didn’t today. I mean, the team has always competed, and today, and their last punch, we just didn’t punch back.”
The turnovers, most of them live-ball instead of throwing the ball out of bounds, gave the 76ers 28 points. Schroder and Cam Thomas totaled 13 turnovers, one more than the entire 76ers team.
The Nets lost the offensive rebound battle 15-7. The final punch came from 76ers guards Maxey and McCain totaling 23 fourth-quarter points.
After Johnson made a three-pointer to give the Nets a 90-89 lead with 7:25 lead, McCain hit a layup and a three-pointer and Maxey added a pair of layups to cap a 9-0 run that put the 76ers up for good. It was part of a 33-13 run that closed the game out.
“Just too many turnovers,” said Thomas, who had 18 points and seven assists. “Too many unforced turnovers. It happens. Just gotta be more cleaner and just get ready for Sacramento [on Sunday].’’
The Nets put together a 14-0 run to take a 64-55 lead, but the 76ers began blitzing the Nets’ ballhandlers to speed them up, leading to more mistakes. A 70-62 Nets lead was erased by the 76ers’ 15-2 run.
Johnson tried to keep the Nets afloat. He shot 14-for-21, including 9-for-13 from beyond the arc. It continued a scorching stretch in which he entered the game at 52.1% from the field and 41.8% on three-pointers in his last nine games.
“When you play with people like Ben [Simmons] and Schroder, they’re able to find you,” Johnson said. “It helps a lot just knowing that those looks are coming.”
Nic Claxton returned after missing the previous three games with a lower back strain and had 12 points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench.
All five 76ers starters scored in double figures, with reserve KJ Martin adding 10 points.
The Nets are in rebuilding mode but started strong before their recent swoon. The 76ers were thought to be contenders in the Eastern Conference, but injuries and off-court issues put them among the league’s worst teams.
“We can’t continuously rely on fighting back being down,” Johnson said. “Today was an example of that. We start stronger, we’re stronger throughout, then that 10-point lead is a 20-point lead in the third quarter and it’s a lot harder for their morale. I’ve been saying this a lot, but work in progress.”
Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
