Bojan Bogdanovic’s 44 points seal Nets Victory over Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers stepped into the Barclay’s Center to face division rival Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night. Philadelphia was competing without the services of its rookie standout Jahlil Okafor who has been sidelined with a knee injury that will presumably end his rookie campaign. Brooklyn entered the contest looking to snap a four-game losing streak.
The name Bojan Bogdanovic was called quite a bit over the loudspeaker at the Barclay’s Center during the first three minutes of the game, as he was responsible for all of the Nets points during that span. The Nets were able to contain the driving ability of Sixers point guard Ishmael "Ish" Smith and limited the Sixers’ second chance scoring opportunities. Bogdanovich’s hot hand continued to scorch the Sixers helping the Nets build a 71-51 lead at halftime.
Brooklyn never relinquished the lead even though Philadelphia whittled it to 12 with 8:15 left in the game and seemed poised for a deeper run. The Sixers had momentum but a three-point basket by the Nets' newly acquired guard, Sean Kilpatrick, swung the momentum back in favor of the Nets. The Nets defense forced the Sixers to take three-pointer or difficult two-point baskets from the field. When the game clock struck zero, the Nets were victorious by a score of 131-114 behind a career scoring day by Bojan Bogdanovic whose point production equaled his jersey number of 44.