Fresh off an upsetting loss to Portland on Thursday, the Sixers bounced back last night, taking down the Brooklyn Nets 124-108. The Sixers improve to 17-7 and have a 1.5 game lead over the Bucks for first place in the Eastern Conference. They are undefeated when the starting lineup is healthy.

Brooklyn came into tonight without stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, leaving James Harden to take on the Sixers. Harden couldn’t get it close enough to pull off a win scoring 26 points tonight. Ben Simmons locked up Harden entirely throughout the game after missing the last game with a calf injury.

Joel Embiid led the way with 33 points exposing the Nets’ lack of a big man presence. Brooklyn was forced to put Norvel Pelle on Embiid with neither him nor DeAndre Jordan being able to stop him. Ben Simmons exploded on offense, too, playing extremely aggressive on drives. Simmons finished the night only two assists away from another triple-double.

Seth Curry seems to be returning to form, looking a lot like his old self once again. Although his shots weren’t falling well, his stamina and hustle looked miles better than before. Off the bench, guard Shake Milton seems to be returning to form from his slump scoring 15 points and leading the bench in scoring.

The Sixers now move to 17-7 on the season and have a nice three-day break before traveling to Sacramento to face the Kings on Tuesday. Since the Harden trade, Brooklyn continues to struggle, now 14-11 and fourth in the Eastern Conference.

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Mandatory Credit: Matt Slocum | AP