The Nets, led by Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, destroyed the Sixers in Ben Simmons’ honor, 129-100.

In the end, it was the perfect match.

You didn’t just destroy the window Sixers 29 years old, but their former teammate. The one who asked to be traded on the deadline looked positively sick, scoring just 11 points as he hit 3 of his 17 shots. Finally, it wasn’t just that Philly’s famously volatile fan base ended up booing their team, But the small group of Nets fans who drove up the I-95 took over the Wells Fargo Center, chanting “Broook-lyn” and “Where’s Harden?” Heard across America on the nationally televised game. Oh yeah, the win also made Ben Simmons smile… a lot… off the bench.

“The guys rose to the occasion, took a second straight win, and let’s see if we can keep building,” said Steve Nash. “I think it’s great for our confidence. We’ve had such a tough stretch here with injuries and we’re trying to put that thing together and build some cohesion and understanding.

“It brings everyone together a little bit and gives us faith in what we’re trying to do.”

Ultimately, Brooklyn was led by two of the new “Big Three” – Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving – but also received contributions from the two players included in the February 10 trading deadline: Seth Curry and Andre Drummond.

“It was a good environment to start, but it didn’t end that way,” Durant said, noting how the Sixers and their fans were weary of the Nets’ superior play. “I didn’t feel it when we left the court. It felt like a regular game, I was saying.

“But I loved the way we handled the match, played with strength and didn’t allow any of those things to affect what we wanted to do. The fans, no matter who we played tonight, it felt like we were trapped.”

KD finished with one of these “you-know-who-I-am” games, scoring 25 points and collecting 14 rebounds to continue with seven assists. This was his 12th double this season, and his third in four games against the Sixers. Durant finished with 10 of 17 effective nights, including 3 of 6 deep. He also had two heists, a block and in the battle of the MVP nominees.

Kyrie Irving, who scored 50 goals two nights ago in Charlotte, had a 22 and like his fellow superstar, had an effective game, firing 8 from 17 and 5 from 11 while adding five boards and four assists.

But the big surprise of the night came from Seth Curry who was included with Andre Drummond in the February 10 deal for James Harden and Paul Millsap. Curry had his best web game with 24 points out of 10 of 14, including four. He also stole the ball five times.

“Shawn (Marks) wanted me for a reason – they trust me,” Curry said after the game, adding, “We’re getting better – it’s just a regular season game, but it’s a great starting point for us.”

The Nets also had doubles as James Johnson (16), Bruce Brown (11) and Patty Mills (10). The two big Nets assigned to Embiid – Andre Drummond and Nic Claxton – not only did a solid job defending the 7’2″ big who shot 5 of 17 off the ground, but scored a total of 16 points and grabbed 15 boards between them.

In fact, Curry and Drummond finished with a total of 31 points, just seven points behind what Harden and Embiid combined.

The win also ruined the pre-game story that notoriously volatile Philly fans would find their way with Simmons, making him miserable even though he wasn’t playing. They kept it for him after he held out for most of the season, hoping to get out of the city of brotherly love. While Philly Boo Simmons were treated mercilessly when he came out for a shot, when he escorted the team to the bench before the game and when he touched down a late pass, he and his teammates were literally laughing on the Nets bench lanes of smiles.

“Was Beautiful. “I enjoyed it,” Irving said after the win. “It’s great for our league when you can make up so much emotion on a night like tonight. I felt like we committed ourselves to playing aggressive defense. … When you set foot in an environment like this, we knew there were going to be very strong fans and we wanted to enjoy it.”

He added that the hatred directed at Simmons by Philly played a role in the Nets’ performance.

“It’s not an individual thing for us. We all felt it. We’re all there. If you come to Ben, you come to us,” Irving said after the match.

“Ben is safe here, he’s good,” Irving added.

Durant told the media the same thing.

“We look at Ben as our brother,” Durant said. “It’s hard for you to cheer at Ben Simmons when you’re losing so much.”

At one point in the first quarter, as Philly fans started chanting, “F*ck Ben Simmons,” Durant walked down the aisle and closed the fans with a dip. Then he hit Irving three times in a row.

It was a wire-to-wire win for Brooklyn. The nets came out of the swinging gates in the first quarter. Brooklyn managed 17 of its first 26 appearances for 40 points. Both Irving and Kevin were preposterous, posting 9 of the 11 combined from the field. Curry, who is enjoying his own revenge game against his former employer (and his father, Doc Rivers), put together his own nine points. Meanwhile, James Harden had what could best be described as the opposite of a revenge show, going only 1 of 6 in the first quarter.

From there, it went downhill for the Sixers. They fell by 21 in the inning (72-51), then after a ridiculous third quarter, they knocked it out, heading into fourth with a 32-point lead. At one point, the bullets swelled to 36 and Sixers fans walked out of the building an indignant group.

Durant praised the group of Nets fans who traveled by bus from Barclays Center.

Dr. said. “It was so cool to see the Brooklyn fans because the label on us is we don’t have any fans. So I hear them in a huge arena like this, fighting against another active crowd, like Sixers fans. I’m starting to see him more and more. The last two years since I’ve been here. That fans. They’re starting to travel. We’ll need that going forward.”

Although a lot of the summaries will be about net offense, which scored shooting splits at 56 percent overall and 45 percent from depth, the Nets’ six defense stifled, taking them up to 32.3 percent (30 of 93) while scoring 13 theft. and 15 blocks. Five for James Johnson and three each for Claxton and Drummond.

By the end of the night, the Nets were 34-33, still eighth in the East but only two games from seventh as the Raptors sit with a two-game advantage over teams ninth and tenth in NBA play shape.

For the Sixers, and especially the Harden, it was just a bad game.

“We’ve got [butt] Harden said after the match.

made mistakes

Sixers fans were so angry at the end of the game that arena security had to remove more than one of them…

After the game, Brooklyn Brigade members cheering for their team gathered from the stands behind the Nets bench and chanted, “Ben Sim Mons.”

Important others celebrate winning

Before the match, as he weathered the storm of boos during the shooting, Ben Simmons stood next to his fellow Australian, Patty Mills. Mills famously said he brought Simmons back. After watching Philly’s win, Simmons’ fiancée and Mills’ wife celebrated on Instagram.

Milestone watch

With Reggie Miller called up to the game, James Harden passed the Pacers sniper in 3-point shooting all the time. Harden now owns 2,561, more than Miller’s.

Patty Mills hit two of the three as well, giving him the 200th for the season. He became the fourth net to reach this achievement, behind D’Angelo Russell (234), Joe Harris (211) and Allen Crabbe (201) at Nets Annals. He has 16 games to beat DLo and averages about three games.

Photo by Elsa / Getty Images

Summoning from Long Island, but not by the net

Tyrone Wallace, who was ripping her off for the Long Island Nets, was called Thursday by the Pelicans, per Adrian Wojnarowski.

The call-up could be a blow to Long Island’s League G title hopes. Wallace teamed up with Craig Randall II, providing the small nets with a solid backyard. Wallace, 27, previously played for the Clippers and Hawks.

If his role with New Orleans doesn’t work out, Wallace could return to Long Island who retains his rights to the J-League.

What then?

The Nets return to Brooklyn on Sunday to play their traditional rival, The nicks. Kyrie Irving will not qualify and Ben Simmons is unlikely to play either. Steve Nash said after the game that Simmons will not play 5-on-5 or be fully involved in Saturday’s training. The game is an affair that starts at 1 pm

For a different perspective on Thursday’s game, check out Liberty Ballers – Our sister’s site covers Sixers…but be nice.