As the Nets heated up over the past two weeks, D’Angelo Russell had gone cold.
In the six games before Wednesday’s, the typically high-scoring Russell shot 32.4% from the field and 22.5% from 3-point range. He finished with 11 points or fewer four times.
But in Wednesday’s 100-96 win over the seriously undermanned Philadelphia 76ers, Russell returned to form.
Russell erupted for a team-high 22 points, one shy of his best scoring effort since being reacquired by the Nets in a late-December trade with the Los Angeles Lakers.
He shot 9-of-15 from the field and 3-of-7 from 3-point range, leading the Nets into the All-Star break with six wins in their last seven games.
Russell began the game in attack mode against a 76ers team that was without Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Kyle Lowry due to injuries and that failed to feature Paul George throughout a conspicuously quiet night.
On the game’s first possession, Russell finished a driving floater over Philadelphia point guard Jared Butler, a two-way player who was pressed into his first start of the season. Less than five minutes later, Russell drilled a tough stepback 3-pointer over the outstretched arm of Quentin Grimes.
Russell began the game 5-of-5 from the field and finished the first quarter with 14 points.
His performance set the tone on a night the Nets also got 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting from Trendon Watford; 16 points from Cam Johnson; and 13 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks from Nic Claxton.
The Nets led by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter, but Philly closed the gap late. Three Brooklyn turnovers in the game’s final minute allowed the Sixers to cut the deficit to four.
Still, Wednesday marked the sixth time in the last seven games that the Nets held an opponent under 100 points. They entered Wednesday with the NBA’s best defensive rating (103.6) and lowest opponent field-goal percentage (40.8%) in the previous six games.
With the Sixers far from full strength, George delivered a major dud, scoring only two points on 1-of-7 shooting. He went 0-of-5 from 3-point range.
George — a nine-time All-Star in the first season of a four-year, $212 million contract — attempted only three shots in the first half. He did not score until early in the third quarter.
Grimes, whom the Sixers acquired from the Dallas Mavericks before last week’s trade deadline, and Kelly Oubre scored 30 apiece to lead Philadelphia.
Wednesday was a far cry from the Sixers’ last visit to Barclays Center on Jan. 4, when Embiid exploded for 28 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in 29 minutes in Philadelphia’s 123-94 win.
Embiid missed Wednesday’s game for injury management on his surgically repaired left knee. Maxey, meanwhile, was ruled out less than two hours before tip-off due to right knee contusion he suffered in Tuesday night’s loss to the Toronto Raptors.
The Nets and 76ers are now both 20-34 and are tied for the No. 11 seed in the Western Conference.
Brooklyn has the next eight days off before hosting the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers on Feb. 20 in the first game after the break.