NEW YORK — The 76ers never really had a chance ... or so one would had thought.
The Sixers already had a daunting task against the Brooklyn Nets before coach Doc Rivers was placed in COVID-19 health and safety protocols Thursday morning.
With MVP front-runner Kevin Durant clearing protocols, the Nets were close to full strength. And the slim likelihood of the Sixers beating the Eastern Conference’s best team was supposed to shrink when their leader wasn’t there.
Butt the Sixers upset the Nets, 110-102, at the Barclays Center to extend their winning streak to three games.
The victory improved them to 19-16 and marked their first victory over Brooklyn (23-10) in this season’s three meetings.
Joel Embiid finished with 34 points on 11-for-23 shooting, marking his sixth straight road game with 30 or points. Twenty-two of his points came in the first half.
His put-back basket with 15.3 seconds left all but clinched the game, giving the Sixers a 110-102 lead. Then Embiid grabbed a defensive rebound as time expired.
Tyrese Maxey, who missed the last meeting with Brooklyn with left quadriceps contusion, added 25 points on 10-for-18 shooting. Seth Curry finished with 17 points.
The Sixers welcomed back reserves Andre Drummond and Shake Milton. They missed the last four games while being in protocols. They’re last game was a 114-109 loss here to the Nets on Dec. 16.
Assistant Dan Burke was the Sixers' acting head coach with Rivers in protocols.
Durant and James Harden scored 33 points apiece for the Nets.
Embiid’s solid game
Embiid, once again, showed why he’s one of the league’s elite players.
The four-time All-Star dominated whoever guarded him in the beginning. Embiid hit 3-pointers and jumpers with ease. He scored 16 of his first team’s 33 points before being subbed out by Andre Drummond with 2 minutes, 37 seconds left in the first quarter.
And Drummond, playing for the first time in five games, continued where Embiid left off. The reserve center was also too much for the Nets’ centers. Drummond scored 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting during a 7:41 stint before Embiid re-entered the game.
It took Embiid a little time to get back in rhythm. He went on to miss his first four shots before scoring a three-point play and hitting a 3-pointer. Embiid missed his final shot of the half, a desperation 3-pointer.
He went into the break with 22 first-half points. After adding six points in the third quarter, Embiid scored six in the fourth quarter.
Drummond, Milton return
Drummond finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds during his return. It was his fifth double-double of the season. This game was kind of a homecoming for Drummond, who was born in Mount Vernon, N.Y., and raised in Connecticut.
Milton had a rough return. He failed to score a point while missing all six of his shot attempts. He cleared protocols on Thursday while Drummond came out of protocols on Monday.
Brooklyn close to full strength
Like Drummond and Milton, this marked Durant’s first game since the Dec. 16 matchup because of being in protocols.
The 11-time All-Star finished with 34 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists in the meeting two weeks ago. On Thursday, Durant made 13 of 24 shots.
But the Nets were essentially a different team from the squad the Sixers faced earlier in the month.
Back then, Brooklyn had seven players — James Harden, LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre’ Bembry, Bruce Brown, Jevon Carter, James Johnson, and Paul Millsap — sidelined due to protocols. They were all available Thursday night.
However, Kyrie Irving and Joe Harris were still out. Harris had left ankle surgery. Irving is ineligible play in New York due to being unvaccinated.
