March 14, 2026, 7:00 p.m. ET
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers were able to squeak past the Brooklyn Nets 104-97 on Saturday afternoon to avoid disaster. The Sixers led the Nets by as many as 28, but saw the lead disappear as Brooklyn took an 87-86 lead on a Tyson Etienne 3 with 3:23 left before Philadelphia rallied back to win it.
The Sixers received big efforts from a number of players as Quentin Grimes had 28 points and eight rebounds, Justin Edwards had 19 points, three steals, and two blocks, and VJ Edgecombe had 16 points and seven assists. Adem Bona had nine points and 10 boards along with four blocks, and Dominick Barlow had 10 and eight rebounds.
Here are the three biggest takeaways following the win:
3-point discrepancy
Despite the win, the difference in 3-pointers by the teams in this one was alarming. The Nets shot 15-for-43 from deep–knocking down 12 in the second half to key the comeback–while the Sixers shot 3-for-25. Philadelphia was 0-for-16 from deep after halftime and it almost cost them in the win. Cam Payne and Grimes combined for the three triples for Philadelphia while nobody else could by a 3 including Edgecombe who was 0-for-3 from beyond the arc. One has to wonder if coach Nick Nurse wants the Sixers to score in other ways when considering the poor numbers, but with the stars sidelined, they need the 3-balls to fall to score consistently.
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“I think we need to move the scoreboard with some 3s, right?” Nurse said after the win. “I mean, obviously we go 3-for-25 today. I don’t think you’d expect—I think Cam had, what, 2-for-8 there, 1-for-6 for Q. I mean, I thought Cam had, of those he took, I thought a couple of them weren’t very good for him. He usually can lull them to sleep a little better than that. I thought they, kind of got back to a couple of his and challenged his little quick sometimes. Q for the most part, I thought again, we want him taking those. I think that’s a good number. We got to get VJ to get on board there. He needs to get in the three-plus category each night.”
Edwards doing it on both ends
The Sixers will need all hands on deck as time goes on until they can get healthy out on the floor and Edwards is going to play a big role during this time. The Philadelphia native was able to find success in a number of areas in this one as he set the tone on the defensive end with some steals and timely blocks while also staying in front of his man throughout the day. He was also very efficient on the offensive end and one has to hope he can build on this going forward. He’s had an up-and-down season, but Nurse has been happy with him being able to stay ready in this instance.
“He, like everybody, goes through the tough parts of, like, OK, he’s starting, and then all of a sudden, three guys come back from injury, and then he gets a DNP,” said Nurse. “That’s kind of a far leap sometimes, and he had some ups and downs with that, but that’s been a while now. He just kind of understands where he’s at. He’s always ready to go. I don’t think it bothered—I mean, he always wants to play, for sure, but it doesn’t bother him as much for sure. I just think he’s handling it better, and I just keep talking through it when it happens, and just tell him to stay ready.”
The guards bounce back
Following miserable nights in Detroit on Thursday, it was encouraging for Philadelphia to see both Grimes and Edgecombe have the performances they had in this one. They were both aggressive with their offense, got after it on the defensive end, attacked the glass, and made plays for others with their passing. For the Sixers to have any shot at winning in this next stretch, Edgecombe and Grimes are going to have to be the catalysts during this run. Â
“I mean, obviously, they’re our two primary scorers probably with this lineup, and I think it was really important for VJ to bounce back from the other night, right?” Nurse said. “Q of carried us, and obviously Justin was really big. I think those two guys in the fourth were, were really important, but yeah. I mean, VJ got off to a really great start, and then kind of went quiet for a while and we need to keep him aggressive.”