The Philadelphia 76ers are back on top in the Eastern Conference and All-Star Ben Simmons said the NBA championship hopefuls intend to stay there.
Simmons scored 17 points to complement MVP candidate Joel Embiid, who led the way with 39 points and 13 rebounds in Wednesday's 123-117 victory over short-handed rivals the Brooklyn Nets.
The 76ers almost surrendered a 22-point lead before holding to improve to 38-17 at the top of the east, ahead of the star-studded Nets (37-18), who were without Kevin Durant, James Harden, LaMarcus Aldridge and Blake Griffin.
"We want that one seed," Simmons told reporters post-game.
"We have a pretty tough schedule coming up with Milwaukee and the Clippers, but I believe we're more than capable of it."
76ers head coach Doc Rivers attempted to rest his two stars in the fourth quarter against a depleted Brooklyn team, but All-Star duo Simmons and Embiid had to return late and close out the win.
"They should not have had to come back in," Rivers said.
Philadelphia were not about to risk letting the game slip away considering the stakes.
The 76ers are now 21-5 at home and remaining on top in the east would keep them there throughout the early rounds of the playoffs.
Embiid had his 11th game this season with 30-plus points and 10-plus rebounds. It is tied with Denver Nuggets star and fellow MVP contender Nikola Jokic for the second most in the NBA, only behind Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
"That fourth quarter, that come back, it was just weird," Embiid said. "I will say, I felt like I sat too long and I kinda lost my rhythm. Them fronting and trapping had nothing to do with how our play in that stretch when I came back.
"We just didn't have the same physicality that we had for the first three quarters."
Should the 76ers meet the Nets in the playoffs, Philadelphia know they will see a far different team than they did Wednesday, but he is not concerned.
"We know exactly who they are and they know exactly who we are," Rivers told reporters.
"When the playoffs start, it's a whole new beast. We'll be ready for them and I'm sure they'll be ready for us."
Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash said securing the Eastern Conference's number one seed would be "valuable" but not at the expense of losing players to injury as his short-handed team lost the top spot to rivals the Philadelphia 76ers.
The star-studded Nets (37-18) were without Kevin Durant, James Harden, LaMarcus Aldridge and Blake Griffin for Wednesday's 123-117 defeat away to fellow NBA championship hopefuls the 76ers (38-17).
After posting 31 points in 27 minutes against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday – just his third appearance since a 23-game injury absence – the Nets opted to sit former MVP Durant and avoid back-to-back outings.
Despite missing most of their stars, though Kyrie Irving (37 points) returned, the Nets almost upstaged the 76ers in the highly anticipated showdown, rallying from 22 points down to close within 118-115 with just over one minute remaining.
"It'd be great to have the number one seed. I think it means a lot, it's valuable," Nash said afterwards. "But not at the expense of losing players or prolonging our injury situation.
"So I think we have to be very careful and make sure that our guys get to the finish line as whole as possible."
Durant has been averaging 28.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game this season.
He is also shooting a career-high 44.8 per cent from three-point range, while the two-time NBA champion (53.5) only boasted a better field-goal percentage in 2016-17 (53.7).
On Durant's absence, Nash responded to suggestions the two-time NBA champion was held out to keep Philadelphia guessing to how Brooklyn – eyeing a maiden title – might operate as a full and healthy unit in the playoffs.
"I think when you start to really try to be cute, it backfires most of the time," Nash said. "It wasn't strategic. It was, this is what this is the availability we have."
Irving – who returned from a personal issue after sitting out the Timberwolves matchup – starred for the Nets, but he watched from the sidelines as Brooklyn's reserves rallied down the stretch.
"Just played their hearts out," Irving said. "That's all you can ask coming out here to play the game that we all love. Just to go out there and compete. You know I'm sure they were chomping at the bit.
"Especially to get that win down the stretch for us and I feel like they grew as a group, we grew as a team and they learned some things out there playing against a high level playoff team that we can potentially see down the line. So it was a fun game overall."
The high-flying Los Angeles Clippers will try to keep their winning streak alive in the NBA with much of their star power on the bench.
Amid a six-game winning streak, the Clippers will be missing Paul George (rest) and Serge Ibaka (back tightness) for Wednesday's game against the lowly Detroit Pistons.
Kawhi Leonard (sore foot) and Patrick Beverley (hand) will also continue to sit out as their injuries heal.
Clippers star Leonard has missed the last two games, while Beverley has been absent for three consecutive outings.
Despite their injury woes, the Clippers (38-18) enter the game with the longest active winning streak in the league.
George, who is continuing to work his way back from a toe injury, contributed 36 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in Tuesday's victory over the Indiana Pacers.
The Brooklyn Nets will be undermanned for Wednesday's blockbuster NBA matchup with Eastern Conference rivals the Philadelphia 76ers after Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge and Blake Griffin were ruled out.
Brooklyn and Philadelphia are set to do battle in a first-place showdown midweek – the two championship hopefuls share 37-17 win-loss records atop the east.
But the Nets will be without superstar Durant (hamstring – injury management) and former All-Stars Aldridge (illness – non-covid related) and Griffin (knee – injury management) as the trio join James Harden (hamstring) on the sidelines.
The star-studded Nets, however, do welcome back Kyrie Irving after he missed Tuesday's 127-97 rout of the Minnesota Timberwolves due to personal reasons.
Former MVP Durant was in doubt for the 76ers clash after playing 27 minutes against the Timberwolves.
Durant posted 31 points on 11-for-15 shooting in his third appearance following a 23-game injury absence.
The Nets-Timberwolves matchup was initially scheduled for Monday, but it was pushed back in the aftermath of Daunte Wright being shot and killed by a police officer in Minneapolis.
It meant Durant faced the prospect of back-to-back games, which the Nets opted to avoid as they eye their maiden NBA title.
Durant is averaging 28.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists for the star-studded Nets this season.
He is also shooting a career-high 44.8 per cent from three-point range, while the two-time NBA champion (53.5) only boasted a better field-goal percentage in 2016-17 (53.7).
The top two teams in the Eastern Conference do battle in Philadelphia on Wednesday as the 76ers host the Brooklyn Nets.
Philadelphia and Brooklyn are tied atop the conference going into a mouth-watering clash.
Yet the Nets will again be without their full complement of stars at Wells Fargo Center, with James Harden struggling due to a hamstring issue and Kyrie Irving having missed Tuesday's game in Minnesota for personal reasons.
But they do have Kevin Durant at their disposal for a contest in which the Nets must try to contain an MVP candidate.
TOP PERFORMERS
Joel Embiid - Philadelphia 76ers
Embiid is expected to miss out on the NBA's top individual honour, with Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets the firm favourite, but he has continued to present a strong case.
He is averaging a career-high 29.6 points per game and has been key to each of the 76ers' past four wins, scoring 24, 35, 27 and 36 points in those contests.
Kevin Durant - Brooklyn Nets
Durant has had his fair share of injury issues this season, but the Nets' sole healthy superstar carried them in a rearranged meeting with the Timberwolves on Tuesday.
The two-time NBA Finals MVP shot 11 of 15, including four of six from three-point range, to rack up 31 points. He will need similar production if the Nets are to see off the Sixers on this unanticipated back to back.
KEY BATTLE - A DUEL BEHIND THE ARC
Durant's performance was indicative of how the Nets have thrived this season. Their three-point field goal percentage of 39.0 is the third-best in the NBA.
In the Sixers, however, they are coming up against a team that has done an impressive job of stopping teams getting hot from deep. Only six teams have allowed fewer three-point makes per game than Philadelphia (11.8).
HEAD TO HEAD
The Sixers came out on top in February's meeting with the Nets, prevailing 124-108 and they have dominated this matchup in recent times.
Philadelphia have won three of the previous four meetings between the two and have not lost a home game to the Nets since December 2018.
Paul George has a had a "breakthrough" after putting his toe injury into perspective and rediscovering his best form.
The star guard helped the Los Angeles Clippers extend their winning streak to six matches with a 126-115 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday.
That result came in the absence of Kawhi Leonard, with George stepping up to contribute 36 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.
It is the fourth game running in which George has hit 30 points, underlining how well he is now coping with a persistent toe problem.
According to George, it has been a shift in his mindset that has allowed the 30-year-old to produce such outstanding performances.
"The injury allowed me to kind of make an excuse for myself," he said.
"But then I put it in perspective – if I'm going to play, then don't let it limit me.
"I feel like I've had a breakthrough because of that mindset.
"It hasn't been flaring up, so that's been working and hopefully, at some point, it just goes away and it's an afterthought, nothing I'm worried about going forward."
Team-mate Marcus Morris Sr lauded George's display and his willingness to take centre stage for his side.
"He's definitely in a groove," the forward said. "He's playing with a chip on his shoulder.
"He is making an emphasis of really taking over and being the best version of himself."
The Brooklyn Nets warmed up for Wednesday's showdown with the Philadelphia 76ers with a comfortable 30-point victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Tuesday's postponed game.
Kevin Durant top scored for the Nets with 31 points along with four rebounds, with guard Joe Harris adding 23 points in the 127-97 win.
Brooklyn improved to a 37-17 record, equal with the 76ers, in the absence of James Harden (hamstring) and Kyrie Irving (personal reasons).
The Utah Jazz regained some form after losing three of their past five games, triumphing 106-96 over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Jazz center Rudy Gobert put on a show with 13 points, 14 rebounds and a staggering seven blocks, while Croatian forward Bojan Bogdanovic top scored with 23.
No Kawhi but Clippers keep on winning
The Los Angeles Clippers extended their winning streak to six games despite missing Kawhi Leonard in a 126-115 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
Leonard was out with a sore right foot but Paul George was up to the task, with 36 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. That's the fourth straight game he's reached 30 points.
The Clippers have now won 12 of their past 14 matches and move to a 38-18 record, equating to third in the West.
The Los Angeles Lakers managed a 101-93 win over the Charlotte Hornets to move to 34-21 in the West.
With LeBron James and Anthony Davis still out injured, the Lakers relied on Kyle Kuzma with 24 points including four threes while center Andre Drummond had 12 rebounds.
The Phoenix Suns remain firm in second in the West with a 106-86 win over the Chicago Bulls and the Boston Celtics edged the Portland Trail Blazers in a final quarter thriller 116-115 as the jostle for play-offs seedings continues.
Thunder crashing down
Guard Luguentz Dort may have scored a career-high 42 points but he was not able to celebrate as the Oklahoma City Thunder slumped to their seventh straight loss against the Jazz. The Thunder are now 20-34 and practically out of playoffs contention.
LeBron loves Kuz sledgehammer
Kyle Kuzma got LeBron James on his feet with a massive one-handed dunk on the transition late in the second in the Lakers' win.
Tuesday's results
Brooklyn Nets 127-97 Minnesota Timberwolves
Los Angeles Clippers 126-115 Indiana Pacers
Atlanta Hawks 108-103 Toronto Raptors
Los Angeles Lakers 101-93 Charlotte Hornets
Utah Jazz 106-96 Oklahoma City Thunder
Phoenix Suns 106-86 Miami Heat
Boston Celtics 116-115 Portland Trail Blazers
Nets in Philly
The top two in the East will face off when the Philadelphia 76ers host the Brooklyn Nets (both 37-17) with Joel Embiid and Kevin Durant available to play although James Harden will likely miss due to injury.
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