NEW YORK — If the Sixers replicate the result of their regular-season finale in Game 1 of their upcoming first-round playoff series against the Nets, they'd be thrilled.
The team closed its season with a 134-105 victory over Brooklyn at Barclays Center to finish at 54-28.
Shake Milton, Mac McClung and Louis King all scored 20 points. Paul Reed had 17 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks.
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SIGN UP HERE Cam Thomas was easily the day's top scorer. He posted 46 points.
For the second straight game, the Sixers were without their top six players, including scoring title winner Joel Embiid and assists title winner James Harden. Georges Niang (left knee soreness) was out as well after scoring 24 points and knocking down five three-pointers Friday night in the Sixers’ rather stunning overtime win against the Hawks.
Brooklyn also did not play the bulk of its rotation, although Mikal Bridges started and appeared in his 83rd game of the season. He was on the floor a grand total of four seconds; Bridges took a foul and then stayed on the Nets’ bench for the rest of the afternoon.
The Sixers are expected to hold several practices as the NBA’s play-in tournament unfolds next week. Round 1 of the 2023 playoffs will begin Saturday with the Sixers hosting the Nets at 1 p.m. ET.
NBA
Here are observations on the Sixers' win Sunday in Brooklyn:
Reasons for Sixers to like Reed vs. Nets matchup
Reed had no problem piling up 10 quick points.
As usual, he was active defensively and on the glass. Reed also finished well inside, including with his left hand, which has become noticeably more refined this season. He’s added nuance and skill to his game over the last couple of years while gaining a better sense for how to supply what the team wants.
“I think for me, I just eliminated all the mental mistakes in the game and that helped build trust from the coaches,” Reed said Thursday. “And I feel like defending and finishing around the rim (are things) I’ve always been good at. So for me it was just eliminating all the mental mistakes during the game and building trust. That’s what helped me solidify my position … if it is solidified.”
Montrezl Harrell and Dewayne Dedmon will be there if needed — the two actually shared the court at times Sunday — but it’s looked clear for quite a while that Reed should indeed be the Sixers’ top backup center to start the postseason. Against Nic Claxton, Day’Ron Sharpe and small-ball lineups, Reed seems poised to give the Sixers good minutes in the first round. When switched on to Thomas, Reed swatted his shot twice in the second quarter. One of Reed’s best performances this season came in a shorthanded Nov. 22 Sixers win over the Nets, so Brooklyn should be fully aware of what he brings to the table.
While outside shooting won’t be on the Nets’ scouting report for Reed, he did drain his first (and only) three-pointer of the season in Sunday’s second quarter. Dedmon also hit a long-range jumper in the third.
Plenty more than dunks from McClung
Just two minutes and seven seconds into the game, McClung subbed in for Jaden Springer, who’d impressed Friday in Atlanta. Springer did not return.
After the game, Springer said he had a "lingering" right ankle issue. He'd been listed as questionable ahead of the Hawks game with a right ankle sprain.
“It was bothering me last game," Springer said. “So I still wanted to go out there and give it a try, but I feel like after that, I just knew to take care of it.”
McClung didn’t have a great shooting start, but he flashed talent in other ways. Early in his first stint, he guarded Thomas tightly on the wing and poked the ball from him, forcing a turnover. He also made a nice driving jump pass to set Reed up for a dunk. Though passing is clearly not McClung’s standout skill, he can effectively employ the jump pass more than the average player.
The dunk contest champion did throw two down on fast breaks Sunday, although McClung opted for solid, traditional two-handed slams over something fancier.
McClung found his jumper in the second half, sinking three threes. He was near a triple-double with nine assists and nine rebounds.
Thomas goes off, King shows his game
Louis King, the Sixers’ other two-way player, had a sweet-shooting Sixers debut.
The 24-year-old wing has good positional size at 6-foot-7 with a 7-foot wingspan, which was helpful against Brooklyn’s smaller perimeter players. For instance, even after a Thomas step-back move got King a bit off balance late in the third quarter, he managed a decent contest on Thomas’ jumper.
That miss was Thomas' first from long range. The Sixers had little luck stopping him all day. Though Thomas is only 6-foot-3, he's excellent at creating shots for himself and absolutely not a player who shies away from putting them up when he's hot. Perhaps the Sixers would've played more aggressive defense on Thomas in a meaningful game and sent all-out blitzes at a certain point, but they didn't need to try anything exotic Sunday.
If anything, both teams were incentivized to be as "vanilla" as possible. They've got a much higher-stakes game coming up next weekend in Philadelphia.
