The Nets probably feel pretty good about being able to bench most of their big names and still pull off a 30-point win. With Paul Pierce, Deron Williams and Andrei Kirilenko held out of the game entirely, Brooklyn was still able to deliver a 127-96 beating to the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night. Chris Johnson and Mirza Teletovic led the Nets with 21 points in the victory.
Joe Johnson added 18 points for the Nets and Brook Lopez and Shaun Livingston each chipped in 17 points as the Nets shot almost 54 percent from the floor. Everything was falling, especially from the outside, where the Nets went 14-for-27 from beyond the arc.
Evan Turner the 76ers with 23 points, but the offense came a bit sparingly after that. Outside of Thaddeus Young and Michael Carter-Williams, no other 76ers player scored in double digits.
Both teams hit the court running, scoring a combined 70 points in the first quarter alone (the Nets held a 38-32 lead after the opening period). After that, the 76ers couldn't keep up with the Nets' tempo over the rest of the game.
Orlando Magic 102, Dallas Mavericks 94
Magic rookie Victor Oladipo had a double-double and Orlando broke the game open in the fourth quarter to earn their first victory of the preseason over the Mavericks on Monday.
Maurice Harkless led the Magic with 16 points as six different Orlando players scored in double figures in the win. The Magic were rolling offensively, shooting 52 percent as a team, but struggled to handle the ball as they turned the ball over 28 times in the game. Harkless and Oladipo combined for 11 of the turnovers.
Dirk Nowitzki and Monta Ellis had big games for the Mavericks, but they didn't get too much help from any of the other major players. Nowitzki had 24 points and Ellis had 16, but no other Dallas player scored in double figures. Vince Carter had seven points off 2-of-9 shooting and his game was more indicative of the Mavericks as a whole.
The Mavericks were without Jose Calderon, Devin Harris and Shawn Marion in the game.
Denver Nuggets 98, San Antonio Spurs 94
Kenneth Faried scored nine of his 22 points in the fourth quarter as the Denver Nuggets overcame two quarters of stagnant offense to top the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night.
J.J. Hickson joined the fourth quarter push with 10 of his 15 points towards the end of the game as the Nuggets capitalized on turnovers to help secure the win. The Nuggets faced a Spurs team that was missing its three main contributors as Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli all sat out the game.
Kawhi Leonard had a double-double for the Spurs, but late turnovers, including two consecutive by Tiago Splitter, helped doom San Antonio. Corey Joseph had 13 points and Spliiter added 12 for the Spurs who fall to 1-2 on the preseason.
Sacramento Kings 99, Los Angeles Clippers 88
DeMarcus Cousins was an interior force the Los Angeles Clippers had no answer for on Monday night. The Sacramento big man finished with 31 points and 11 rebounds on 11-of-18 shooting to help the Kings improve to 2-1 in the preseason. Sacramento get supplemental scoring punch from Isaiah Thomas (16 points, five assists) in the win. John Salmons and Marcus Thornton each added 10 points for the Kings.
The Clippers fell to 2-1 with the loss, as Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and Matt Barnes were held out by coach Doc Rivers. Darren Collison inherited lead guard duties for the Clippers with finished with 20 points and 10 assists. Jamal Crawford was stellar off the bench as well, shooting 9-of-14 from the field to finish with 25 points and four assists. Byron Mullens added 16 points for the Clippers (including 4-of-12 on three-point shooting) in defeat.
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