Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center displayed a different vibe right from the start as the Sixers welcomed in the 5-8 Brooklyn Nets to the city of brotherly love with the hopes of capturing their first win of the NBA season. The Nets came into the game losing six of their last seven games and struggling mightily, which led the Philadelphia fans to believe tonight could possibly be the night their team could crack the win column. The Sixers came into the game coming off hard fought, 114-104, loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, a team who is one of the hottest teams in the NBA at the moment. Recently, the Sixers have played in a bunch of competitive games leading them to believe they could steal one at home tonight from an aging Nets unit. Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center brought back the old Sixers game atmosphere. The crowd was into the game right from the tip and the place was going ballistic late in the fourth quarter of a tight game before Brooklyn quieted all hopes and left the arena with a 99-91 victory over the, still winless, Sixers.
Throughout the first quarter the Nets took all the hyped up energy out of the building and were leading fans to believe another blowout was on the horizon. Brooklyn jumped out early due to a poor offensive quarter from the Sixers, including yet another 0/5 start from the floor from last season NBA Rookie of the Year, Michael Carter-Williams. His struggles in the first quarter have been way too consistent in recent weeks and you are able to visibly watch his all of his confidence diminish in a matter of minutes. MCW presses entirely too much in the first quarter of games leading to ugly off-balance shots that are just desperate miracle heaves. On the other hand, the Nets shot the ball around 70 percent in the first quarter and were scorching shots from all angles. Everything was falling for them and the Sixers looked like a depleted unit after one quarter.
The second quarter was a much different story for Brooklyn as the Sixers defense turned up the intensity and started forcing poor shots along with turnovers. They gained back some momentum and crowd life during the quarter with their defensive efforts, with the help of rookie K.J McDaniel’s a starting position. The energy McDaniel’s provides to this team is like no other. He can come in at any moment and immediately create an impact on the game in some way. He was the SEC defensive player of the year for a reason and his offensive skillset is tremendously underrated. McDaniel’s seemed to be the lone bright spot of the first half for a Sixers team that was struggling in every category, but somehow only trailed by eight, 49-41 heading into the break.
The third quarter didn’t start exactly the way the Sixers wanted after gaining some momentum back towards the end of the second. Brooklyn began the third on a 9-0 run and extended their advantage to 17 points. More exciting play from K.J. McDaniel’s ignited the Sixers to get back into the affair and an alley-oop slam by McDaniel’s from Tony Wroten allowed the Sixers to begin their run about midway through the third. The dunk cut the Brooklyn lead to 11 and the score was now 67-56. This play was the spark lit under the Sixers leading them on a 13-5 run to end the third, resulting in a 72-67 Nets lead after three and the Wells Fargo Center was rocking.
The fourth quarter provided wonderful excitement that filled the Wells Fargo Center with more hope that this could be the night. The Sixers were forcing turnovers, looking up the court, getting easy buckets, and climbing their way back into the game. A MCW to Noel alley-oop slam capped a 6-0 Sixers run to start the fourth and the feeling couldn’t have been any better. The Sixers took the lead on a play where our two young prospects finally connected with each other and had the top blowing off at Wells Fargo. The game provided thrilling excitement throughout the fourth quarter until as Alan Anderson lead the Nets with 12 timely points during the fourth quarter. He was getting to the free-throw line and nailing free-throws left and right, putting a dagger in the Sixers hopes. A controversial off the ball foul in the crucial moments off the fourth quarter led to Michael Carter-Williams fouling out and ending his chances at leading his Sixers to their first win. The foul also gave Brooklyn two extra free-throws that depleted the Sixers chances. K.J. McDaniel’s received a good look from three-point range on a must score possession but bricked the shot and Brooklyn ran out the clock on the game.
This loss hurts as a Sixers fan. Knowing just how hard they’ve worked and how close this team came to winning their first game tonight has to set the young squad back a few steps. Coach Brett Brown has to tell his boys to forget this game and move on to the next opportunity on the schedule. Although it counts as another loss in the books, let’s look at this game as a building tool. Our team gave it all they had tonight and at this point that’s all you can really ask for. I don’t want to speak for everyone, but I think I’m speaking for most when I say this team is the most exciting 0-15 team to watch in the history of the NBA.
Next up: Saturday November 29th vs Dallas(10-5), 7pm Tip
-Follow @WillRock2424 on Twitter
