PHILADELPHIA — The small-ball-happy Nets experimented with going big for the first two games of this season, but when push came to shove, they went with what they knew. And it worked.
Head coach Steve Nash started Nic Claxton and Blake Griffin together in the frontcourt in Friday’s 114-109 win over the 76ers, moving Kevin Durant to small forward and deploying usual small forward Joe Harris in the backcourt alongside James Harden.
It’s the same big lineup they used in the season-opening loss at defending champion Milwaukee. And Friday, after the Nets trailed 108-98 with 5:32 left, Nash brought in Jevon Carter to pair with Patty Mills in an undersized, but pesky, backcourt. The coach moved Durant back to power forward and let LaMarcus Aldridge cook in the midrange.
That sparked a 16-1 run, with the Nets holding Philadelphia to 0-for-9 shooting and forcing two turnovers.
“It was great. Patty and JC picked up and pressured their guards, who were pretty much comfortable at night. They bring a different dynamic; they bring shooting, they bring the speed that we need,” James Harden said. “And then as far as me and Kevin, we just do what we do: Make plays, score the basketball and try to play the right way.”
Mills finished with 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting, including 3-for-3 from behind the arc. He has made all 10 of his attempts from 3-point range this season. Both Aldridge and Mills finished plus-21.
The Nets will play Sunday’s home opener without Kyrie Irving, because of his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine. But protesters who held a rally in Times Square last weekend against the city’s vaccine mandate will march on Sunday in support of the Nets guard, ineligible to play home games due to the mandate.
Fox News reported that the march will start at Commodore Barry Park and go to Barclays Center ahead of the home opener against the Hornets.
Busta Rhymes — who will perform at the opener — has been vocal in his protestations against mask mandates and the COVID-19 vaccine. But he is believed to have relented in his stance since then.
The Long Island Nets acquired the G-League rights to 7-footer Adam Woodbury from the Grand Rapids Gold in exchange for their second-round pick in Saturday’s G-League Draft.