PHILADELPHIA _ The 76ers overcame boos, rust and the Brooklyn Nets.
They battled back from a 20-point deficit to beat the Nets, 112-014, in overtime Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center in the first game for both squads following the All-Star Break.
The Sixers (35-21) hadn't played since their 110-103 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 11. And they looked every bit like a team that had eight days in between games. The Sixers' timing appeared to be off. They shot poorly from three-point range and made a lot of miscues.
The sellout crowd voiced its displeasure, booing the home squad frequently through the first three quarters.
However, Joel Embiid is a major reason why the Sixers improved their league-best home record to 26-2. They also extended their winning streak to four games. (All of those matchups were at home.)
The three-time All-Star Game starter finished with a season-high 39 points to go with game highs of 16 rebounds and two blocks. He made 18 of 19 foul shots.
Shake Milton's three-point play put the Sixers up 76-75 with 35 seconds left in the third quarter. It was their first lead since clinging to a 26-25 advantage with 10:27 left in the first half.
Embiid later knotted the score at 101 with a pair of foul shots with 35.9 seconds to play in the game. Spencer Dinwiddle scored on the ensuing possession.
But on the next possession, he foul Embiid while the big man posted him up. The Cameroonian then hit a pair of foul shots to knot the score at 103 with 16.2 seconds left. On the final possession of regulation, Embiid blocked Wilson Chandler's layup attempt at the buzzer.
Brooklyn scored the first point of overtime before the Sixers went on a 9-0 run.
Tobias Harris added 22 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, while Alec Burks had 19 points off the bench.
Caris LeVert led the Nets (25-29) with 25 points. Dinwiddie added 22.
A big story line was who wasn't on the court.
Sixers point guard Ben Simmons was sidelined with lower-back tightness. The Nets were without point guard Kyrie Irving.
Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks announced before the game that Irving would undergo arthroscopic right shoulder surgery and is done for the rest of the season. The 27-year-old six-time All-Star ended up playing only 20 games.
Last summer, the Nets signed him and Kevin Durant to four-year, $141 million contracts. Durant won't play this season after suffering a right Achilles injury last June in the NBA Finals while with the Golden State Warriors.
Irving previously missed 26 games with a right shoulder impingement before returning Jan. 12 after getting a cortisone shot.
After he missed the final five games before the All-Star break with a knee sprain, it was determined that he wouldn't play through the shoulder pain any longer. He felt surgery was the right course.
"I think we look at our players long-term health as the number one priority," Marks said. "Kyrie has been adamant like the rest of us that he would take one cortisone shot and see how it goes.
"We are looking at the big picture here. We are not looking at the next two-three months. We are looking at the next two-three years."
The Sixers are looking to have Simmons healthy for their coming schedule. They have a tough road test on Saturday against the Milwaukee Bucks.
The two-time All-Star initially reported discomfort at practice Wednesday.
"It was a play where he went up for a rebound and I looked over and he left the court and went and got treatment," coach Brett Brown said. "It played out like it played out.
"We don't believe it's anything that too significant."
But Simmons still experienced discomfort Thursday morning. So he received more treatment at the practice facility.
It was the third game that the third-year veteran has missed this season. He missed the first two games with a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder. Simmons has also been dealing with lower-back tightness since the 2018-19 preseason.
Raul Neto started in his place. He was joined in the starting lineup by Glen Robinson III, Harris, Embiid, and Josh Richardson. Al Horford came off the bench for the second straight game.
The Sixers had a 22-6 advantage in the first quarter. But that turned into a 50-30 deficit with 3 minutes, 9 seconds remaining in the half.
As expected, the sellout crowd let them know about it with loud boos.
The Sixers responded with a 9-0 run before Caris Levert buried a jumper. Joel Embiid responded with a three-pointer on the ensuing possession. The Nets took a 52-42 lead into intermission.
