The Sixers looked well on their way to a nice, easy blowout victory Saturday afternoon.

They certainly did not cruise to the finish line, but the Sixers ultimately managed to earn a 104-97 win over the Nets at Xfinity Mobile Arena after blowing a 28-point lead. 

Quentin Grimes tied his season high with 28 points.

Justin Edwards tallied 19 points and VJ Edgecombe added 16.

The 36-31 Sixers again had a lengthy list of unavailable players:

Tyrese Maxey (right pinky sprain)

Joel Embiid (right oblique strain)

Kelly Oubre Jr. (left elbow sprain) 

Paul George (suspension)

Andre Drummond (back spasms) 

Jabari Walker (illness)

Johni Broome (right knee surgery recovery) 

The 17-50 Nets were also without many key pieces.

Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said pregame that Embiid did an individual on-court workout Friday and has been feeling better. Nurse was unsure of when Embiid might return, though he said there’s “a chance” the star big man could be back during the team’s three-game road trip that begins Tuesday night against the Nuggets. 

The Sixers will host the Trail Blazers on Sunday. Here are observations on their win over the Nets: 

Edgecombe shrugs off rough night in Detroit 

Edgecombe scored the first four points of the day with a fast-break slam and a baseline jumper. 

Compared to his 3-for-14 outing Thursday in the Sixers’ loss to the Pistons, Edgecombe was much improved. He made his fourth field goal with 5:56 left in the first quarter to put the Sixers up 18-9. In addition to his success as a downhill driver, Edgecombe hit two mid-range shots in the first quarter. 

Following his second steal of the first quarter, Edgecombe tried to thrown down a show-stopping dunk over Josh Minott. He narrowly missed it, much to the home crowd’s disappointment. Maxey gave Edgecombe’s effort a (good-natured) thumbs down on the sideline.

The Sixers built a double-digit lead largely because of their early advantage in the turnover department. They had a 14-2 halftime edge in points off turnovers. 

Scoring a struggle for Nets in first half

The Nets’ offense was quite sloppy and about as ineffective as you’ll ever see in the first half of an NBA game.

Brooklyn only mustered 31 points over the first two quarters. A Tyson Etienne air ball dropped the Nets to 2 for 19 from three-point range. The Sixers’ lead grew as high as 25 points late in the second on a driving Dalen Terry hoop. 

Even with all of the Sixers’ injuries, this was a rare instance in which their available talent was clearly superior to the opposition’s. The young Nets were not especially strong in any particular area. 

The Sixers at least had competent, experienced players on both their first and second units. Nurse played a nine-man rotation that included everyone available besides Kyle Lowry and Tyrese Martin. 

Sweating it out down the stretch

Edwards has started the Sixers’ last two games and swiped seven steals. 

He’s also had double-figure scoring games in three of his last four appearances. The 22-year-old drove well in the first half and made two mid-range jumpers early in the third quarter. While Edwards went 0 for 3 from three-point range Saturday, he was 9 for 10 inside the arc. 

The Nets won the third quarter by a point and scored the first six of the fourth on long-range jumpers from Etienne and Minott. Grimes helped the Sixers briefly regain their footing with several self-created baskets, although he then fouled Minott on a three-point attempt.

One reason the Nets hung around was the Sixers had another poor outside shooting game. They dipped to 3 for 25 from long distance with a Cameron Payne miss at the 4:35 mark of the fourth quarter. Malachi Smith’s lay-in then sliced Brooklyn’s deficit down to five points.

The Nets kept on rolling after a Sixers timeout.

Brooklyn suddenly couldn’t miss and the Sixers seemed to be stunned by the Nets’ high-energy surge. Three-balls from E.J. Liddell and Etienne gave Brooklyn an 87-86 lead.

The Sixers tightened their defense and made a much-needed 6-0 run that included an Edwards driving lay-in and free throws from Grimes and Dominick Barlow.

Grimes came through again in the clutch with a jumper that lifted the Sixers to a 96-91 edge with 42.1 seconds left. They were able to maintain that lead.