On March 11, Beijing time, the NBA regular season ushered in a focus showdown, the Nets challenged Philadelphia away, Harden faced the old owner for the first time after the trade, the first quarter of the game was very exciting, the Nets broke out in the first quarter, 40-23 led by 17 points.
This game attracted attention, before the two teams just made a big deal, Harden, Curry Jr., Drummond, etc. are facing the old owners, especially Harden and Irving Durant's showdown is eye-catching. The Nets had a big win over the Hornets, but the overall state of the recent period was not good, and Philadelphia has been in excellent form recently, ranking 3rd in the East.
The Nets started: Irving, Curry, Brown, Durant, Drummond. Philadelphia's starters are: Maxi, Harden, Sable, Harris, Embiid. During pre-game training, Simmons received boos from Philadelphia fans throughout. At the beginning of the first quarter, Durant scored first, Embiid returned two points, Durant scored a dunk, Irving also hit a three-pointer, and the Nets started 7-2. Durant scored against Embiid to give the Nets a 13-7 lead. Harden hit a three-pointer and Philadelphia trailed to 11-16, and with that three-pointer, Harden reached 2,661 career three-pointers, surpassing Miller and rising to third all-time, behind Ray Allen and Curry.
Back from the timeout, Irving hit a three-pointer, Embiid was still very lethal on the inside line, walked to the free throw line many times, Irving continued a good feel, the Nets always suppressed Philadelphia, Curry Jr. broke through to score, and the Nets stopped Philadelphia 26-15. After the timeout, Drummond and Embiid made consecutive lethal free throws to narrow the score, Embiid scored 2+1, and Philadelphia played a wave of 21-26. The Nets didn't panic either, and soon widened the point difference again, with Brown quick-on dunks and Durant hitting a three-pointer to give the Nets a 33-21 lead.
Embiid made Durant foul under the basket, the two had a verbal altercation, at one point spray, Irving hit a whistle three-pointer, the Nets led 40-23 in the first quarter. The Nets' top three scorers exploded, with Durant having 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals on 5-of-6 shooting, Irving with 14 points and Curry Jr. with 9 points. For the Philadelphia side, Embiid had 16 points and 4 rebounds, and Harden had 3 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist on 1-of-6 shooting.