PHILADELPHIA — The Nets got a career performance from Cam Johnson.
And they fumbled it away, the same way they gave away the ball.
Brooklyn’s turnovers, sloppiness and self-inflicted troubles undid Johnson’s big shooting night and cost it a 113-98 loss Friday night at shorthanded Philadelphia.
“It was a lot self-inflicted,” coach Jordi Fernandez said. “We’re up five with 10 minutes to go, and it ends up being a [33-13] run. It’s not a good sign. It’s hard to win a game like that. We have to be better. We have to find a way to respond, especially on the road, and we didn’t. The team has always competed, and [Friday] their last punch, we just didn’t punch back.”
Despite Johnson finishing with 37 points on 9-of-13 shooting from deep, he couldn’t save the Nets from themselves.
They coughed the ball up 19 times, resulting in Philadelphia’s 28-12 edge in points off turnovers — 6-0 in the fourth quarter.
That proved the difference, especially in the endgame.
Nic Claxton, coming off the bench in his return after missing three straight games with a stiff back, hit a driving reverse to give the Nets an 85-80 lead with 9:59 left. But they couldn’t hold it, allowing the Sixers to finish the game on a 33-13 run.
“It was like 13-33 or something. [The] fourth quarter was bad. That wasn’t us. We’ve got to be better. Everybody, we all got to hold each other accountable. We need to talk more down the stretch. We just went flat,” Claxton said.
“They just did whatever they wanted. Wherever they wanted to get to, they got to their spots comfortably.”
The Nets shot just 6-for-18 with four turnovers down the stretch in that run, falling to 6-10 and 1-2 in the NBA Cup.
Johnson finished a point shy of his career high. His 3-pointers tied both his career mark and the Nets’ franchise record for 3s made in a road game.
But it still wasn’t enough.
“Yeah, they definitely blitzed more [late], but we always know that’s coming,” said Ben Simmons, booed at every touch from start to finish by the sellout crowd of 19,817 at Wells Fargo Center. “We’ve just got to be better prepared and be mindful of that and take care of the ball. It’s precious.”
Simmons had just two points, four assists and was an unsightly minus-20. Cam Thomas had 18 points but shot just 6 of 15 with seven turnovers.
“They really didn’t do much. It was nothing that we haven’t seen. A lot of our turnovers were unforced … stepping out of bounds … little stuff like that,” Thomas said. “We just have to be better, clean it up, take care of the ball.
“We were getting good looks. It’s just the live-ball turnovers really hurt — turnovers they go get dunks or transition 3s and that really swings the game, especially a road game like this. Then they get the crowd into it. It’s deflating, but we all just have to be cleaner with the turnovers, including me.”
Philadelphia improved to 3-12 and 1-2 in the NBA Cup. Joel Embiid and Paul George missed the game, but young Jared McCain had 30 points and Tyrese Maxey added 26.
The Nets trailed by 13 early. Thomas gave the ball away to Guerschon Yabusele, who fed Maxey for a fast break dunk. It became a trend.
The Nets found themselves trailing 51-38 with 3:27 left in the first half before they mounted an extended 26-4 run that spanned intermission.
Dorian Finney-Smith hit from the right corner to make it 64-55.
The Nets led multiple times by nine, and it was still 70-62 after Johnson’s layup with 7:07 left in the third before they got sloppy.
Thomas committed multiple turnovers in a 15-2 Philadelphia run. The second — getting stripped by Maxey for a breakaway dunk that cut Brooklyn’s lead to 70-69 — saw Fernandez call a timeout and lift Thomas for Jalen Wilson.
Reggie Jackson’s 3-pointer capped the run and left Brooklyn down 77-72 with 2:36 left in the third.
The fourth was a back-and-forth affair. Brooklyn led by five until conceding the 33-13 run that sealed it.
