NBA Playoffs 2019: Four takeaways from the Philadelphia 76ers Game 3 win over the Brooklyn Nets

Benyam Kidane and Scott Rafferty
and others
• 5 min read
#Simmons

The Brooklyn Nets missed a huge opportunity in Game 3 to take control of the series, with Joel Embiid missing the game with left knee soreness.

In his absence, Ben Simmons led from the front with 31 points and nine assists, while Tobias Harris added 29 points and JJ Redick 26 as they secured the 131-115 win.

With the Sixers back in control of the series with a 2-1 lead, here's four key takeaways from today's game...

Three-point shooting 

Brooklyn entered Game 3 outscoring the 76ers 78-36 from the 3-point line, but Philly flipped the script.

After hitting just 12 triples through the first two games, they connected on 11-of-27 from beyond the arc, with JJ Redick (7-of-9) and Tobias Harris (6-of-6) coming alive.

The wing duo provided tons of spacing for Simmons to get inside and get easy looks at the rim, with the Aussie  going 11-of-13 from the field, putting on a dunk-fest at Barclays Center.

While Philly lit it up from deep, the Nets were ice cold, going 8-of-39 with Joe Harris (0-of-4), D'Angelo Russell (2-of-9) and Spencer Dinwiddie (1-of-4) struggling to get going. 

Harris had an especially tough task chasing Redick around the 3-point line, with the veteran putting on a show in Game 3.

A big game for Tobias Harris

Harris picked quite the moment to have one of his best games as a member of the 76ers.

With Joel Embiid sidelined, Harris stepped up in a big way with 29 points on 11-for-18 shooting from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from 3-point range. He was at his best in the second quarter, when he almost went toe-to-toe with Caris LeVert by scoring 11 of Philadelphia's 33 points.


Harris also pulled down a playoff career-high 15 rebounds in the win. The combination helped the 76ers outscore the Nets by 14 points with him on the court, giving him the second-best +/- of the game.

The 76ers will need much more of that from Harris in the coming weeks to go as far as they hope to.

Ben Simmons leads by example

With Embiid sidelined, all eyes were on Ben Simmons ahead of Game 3 and the point guard set the tone from the jump, scoring eight points in the first six minutes of the game on 3-of-3 shooting.

Jared Dudley's pre-game comments about him being "average" in the halfcourt lit a fire under the Aussie and he let his play do the talking, with his aggressive mentality rubbing off on his teammates. 


He finished the game as strong as he started it, scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter, hammering home dunk after dunk and when the Nets opted for the hack-a-Simmons down the stretch, he held his nerve at the free throw line, going 9-of-11 for the game.

Simmons finished with a playoff career-high 31 points on 11-of-13 shooting, adding nine assists, four rebounds, three blocks and two steals. 

Guard play for the Nets

After a rough first quarter, in which the 76ers missed 15 of their 24 shot attempts as a team, it was Caris LeVert who got Brooklyn back into the game.

LeVert opened the second quarter on a personal 14-0 run to turn a 32-24 deficit into a tie game at 32. He scored five more points in period, making it the highest scoring quarter of his NBA career.

It was then Spencer Dinwiddie who led the charge for the Nets in the third quarter, followed by D'Angelo Russell in the fourth.

Russell entered the frame with 13 points on 6-for-16 shooting from the field, but he shook off a rough start to the game to score 11 straight points for the Nets.

It was this 3-pointer from Russell that made it a two possession game with 8:37 to play:

Unfortunately for Russell, his teammates went cold (1-15 FG) while Simmons carried the 76ers to victory. Still, Game 3 was yet another example of how dynamic the Nets' backcourt can be.
Author(s)
Benyam Kidane and Scott Rafferty