That’s why this victory was more important than January wins typically are. Don’t underestimate the power of fan noise. Sometimes it accelerates imminent drastic decisions. And by beating the Nets, the Sixers sent their faithful to sleep somewhat happy, improving to 26-16, a record scarred by 7-14 away from South Philadelphia.
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This isn’t what many expected going into this season. The Sixers were supposed to be at the top of the Eastern Conference standings, with the Milwaukee Bucks heading to the playoffs, and both teams meeting for a trip to the NBA Finals. Instead, Milwaukee is 10 games ahead of the sixth-place Sixers.
Things can turn around quickly, and optimists hope Wednesday night is the spark that gets the Sixers back on track after losing six out of eight since their thrilling Christmas Day dominance of the mighty Bucks.
A promising fourth quarter
The Brooklyn Nets led after every quarter heading to the fourth. They were getting to the foul line much more than the Sixers, who continued to struggle with their three-point shooting. That’s a bad combination.
In prior weeks, the 76ers would play uninspiring basketball only on the road, playing down to inferior opponents. At least at home they looked completely different. The first three quarters on Wednesday, however, felt like a road game, and it looked like they were headed for a third straight defeat.
Then things changed. The Sixers tightened things up defensively, while Tobias Harris and Furkan Korkmaz started making huge shots, with critical buckets set up by Ben Simmons.
Harris had 11 of his 34 points in the fourth, with nine coming over the final couple of minutes. Korkmaz hit two massive threes that gave the Sixers their first lead since the second quarter.
"I think, as a team, we play better basketball at home," Korkmaz said. "Fans involved. We play harder. Take your momentum up. There’s some days which you feel the game more, and today was also one of those days, which I was feeling the game."
The Sixers outscored Brooklyn 31-16 in the fourth.
"We said after the third quarter when we sat down that we needed to hold them under 20 points this quarter to win the game," Harris said.
It was another sign, amid tons of inconsistency, that, when the Sixers play to their defensive potential, up their energy and make shots, they’re fun to watch and hard to beat.
And it was also a pleasant sign for Harris, who’s playing the first year of a reported five-year $180 million contract that many fans feel is too much for his skillset.
"I was proud of him," head coach Brett Brown said, "and it’s deeper than 'He just made shots.' … It doesn’t surprise me he came out the way he did."
Now, the Sixers need to build on their dominant fourth quarter against Brooklyn with weaker opponents such as Chicago, New York and Brooklyn again coming up in the next handful of days. After that, it’s a tough two-week stretch that includes the Raptors, Lakers, Celtics, Heat and Bucks — all but the Los Angeles game on the road.
Embiid strikes back
Wednesday’s game tipped off the second half of the Sixers' 82-game regular season schedule. There's time to catch at least four of the teams ahead of the Sixers in the Eastern Conference to climb up to the two-seed.
Obviously, things should get a little easier whenever Joel Embiid returns from his left finger injury. In a very transparent essay in The Players’ Tribune, he wrote about the adversity he’s faced in his life since he started playing basketball, and how he plans to approach his game whenever he comes back.
It sounds like Embiid wants to focus on being a versatile big man who doesn’t live solely in the paint, despite analysts criticizing him for taking too many perimeter shots. He finished the essay saying, again, that he’s going to put an end to his trash talk because he’s "trying to win a (expletive) title."
It’s no secret that, when everyone is healthy, General Manager Elton Brand's roster of unique skillsets has struggled to mesh as he and others hoped. But the bottom line is this: When Embiid is dominant, when the Sixers defend, when Simmons is aggressive, and when others like Harris contribute offensively — the sky is the limit.
This season is not a lost cause. If the Sixers can stay within striking distance of that second seed by the time Embiid returns, there’s no reason the talent on this uniquely constructed team can’t make a run.
Wednesday night’s comeback win against the 18-22 Nets helped prevent a new level of panic and disgust in this sports-crazed city.