Nets thrash Harden, Sixers in first clash since blockbuster trade

MANILA, Philippines — The Brooklyn Nets made light work of the Philadelphia 76ers in their first meeting since trading stars James Harden and Ben Simmons, 129-100, at Wells Fargo Center in Philly on Thursday (Friday, Manila time).

Though still not having made his debut for Brooklyn, Simmons sat courtside in the game where he was greeted with boos in his former home arena.

Still, the 25-year-old had the last laugh as his team went wire-to-wire against the Sixers and led by as much as 36 points.

Kevin Durant finished with an all around game with 25 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and a block to pace the Nets in the victory.

He had ample support from both Seth Curry and Kyrie Irving who finished with 24 and 22 points, respectively.

The Nets took complete control of the game from the opening salvo where they were up big, 40-23.

Their dominance was capped off by a buzzer-beating triple by Irving.

For Philly, Joel Embiid led the offensive efforts in the loss with 27 points and 12 rebounds.

Meanwhile, Harden was limited to just 11 points on a dismal 3-of-17 shooting night against his former team.

The Nets thus fanned their momentum after notching their second win in a row and rise above .500, 34-33.

The Sixers, meanwhile, fell to 40-25.