NEW YORK (AP) – Joel Embiid had 37 points and 13 rebounds, James Harden scored 29 points in his first game in Brooklyn since being traded a year ago to begin a Big Three breakup, and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Nets 101-98 yesterday.
The 76ers got a victory instead of overtime when Spencer Dinwiddie’s three-pointer was ruled too late after a video review.
Harden added six rebounds and six assists after being booed in introductions and then early in the game.
Mikal Bridges scored 23 points in his first game with the Nets, but missed a layup that would have given the Nets the lead with about two seconds left. Harden then made two free throws with 0.9 seconds to go, and Dinwiddie’s shot after a timeout was too late.
The Nets started Bridges, Cam Johnson, Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith, the four players they acquired this week from Phoenix for Durant and Dallas for Irving.
The Nets had the look of a tough defensive team that will miss the scoring of their All-Stars, managing only one basket in the last six minutes. “We were getting good looks, just sometimes you can’t control,” Bridges said. “They look good and don’t go in.”
