Despite leading and controlling the entire first half, the Philadelphia 76ers went into halftime leading the Brooklyn Nets by just one point in Game 2 of the first-round series, a series Philly already trailed 0-1. Pressure was mounting.
Related: Sixers dominate Nets to tie series | Instant Analysis
Sixers head coach apparently laid into the team, cursing them out and eventually firing them up. The Sixers dominated the third quarter with a historic 51 point performance over the next 12 minutes, en route to a 145-123 blowout win.
Brett Brown chewed out Sixers at halftime for 3-4 minutes according to players. Angriest Mike Scott has seen Brett since he's been here:"Cussed us out. We needed it"Tobias Harris"Coach really got into us. It was fiery" ---- pic.twitter.com/xANE6WGsyX
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) April 16, 2019"He came in here, said a few cuss words which shocked me a little bit, but I like it," Jimmy Butler said after the game of Brown's halftime speech. "That's that type of energy I love."
The Sixers were led by Ben Simmons, who responded to an awful Game 1 performance with 18 points (8-12 shooting), 12 assists, 10 rebounds, two steals, plus solid defense on D'Angelo Russell in just 30 minutes. Simmons left the floor to a standing ovation from the crowd.
Game 3 is Thursday in Brooklyn at 8pm.
