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"Best" and "Worst" awards: Sixers vs. Nets

    by Keith Pompey, The Philadelphia Inquirer
    Published 

NEW YORK – My look at some of the best and worst performances and happenings from the Brooklyn Nets' 130-94 victory over the 76ers on Monday at the Barclays Center:

Best performance: This is the easy one, because Joe Johnson flat out destroyed and embarrassed the Sixers. He made eight three-pointers in the third quarter to tie the NBA record for three-pointers in a quarter set by Milwaukee's Michael Redd on Feb. 20, 2002. Johnson scored 29 of his game-high 37 points in the quarter. The Sixers are fortunate he sat out the fourth.

Worst performance:  This goes to Spencer Hawes. The Sixers center was a no-show, missing four of his five shots and was dominated by the Nets.  Hawes finished with two points, seven rebounds, a steal and a turnover. While he did rebound the ball, it's hard to overlook his lack of offense.

Best performance in a losing effort:  This is an extremely tough one. But James Anderson gets the award even though he surrendered a portion of Johnson's threes. (Yes, it was that type of night for the away team.) The reserve shooting guard had a team-high 17 points while making a team-best three three-pointers. He also finished with three rebounds, three assists, a steal and zero turnovers.

Best defensive performance:  Kevin Garnett gets this award. The Nets power forward/center blocked a shot and had two steals in his 16 minutes of action.  He also finished with four rebounds – all defensive –in his limited action.

Worst statistic: How can you not give this to the Sixers' fourth-quarter three-point shooting? They made just 1-for-7 (14.3 percent) in the final 12 minutes. Yes, I know the game was basically over. But shooting 14.3 percent is bad.

Best statistic: This award goes to the Nets' three-point shooting. The Nets made 21 of 35 three-pointers to set a franchise record.

Worst of the Worst:  This award goes to the Sixers yielding 21 three-pointers for the second consecutive game. The Sixers also set an NBA record by giving up 15 or more three-pointers in six games in one season.

- Keith Pompey

Follow and contact Inquirer 76ers beat writer Keith Pompey on Twitter @PompeyOnSixers