Brooklyn Nets: Player grades from late loss to 76ers

2 of 6

C. Brooklyn Nets. JARRETT ALLEN. B. 36 MIN, 17 PTS, 7-for-11 (0-for-1), 10 REB (4 ORB), 4 PF, 3 TO, -2

Jarrett Allen played a career-high 36 minutes battling All-Star Joel Embiid, in part due to Ed Davis fouling out just 20 seconds into the fourth quarter, and he didn’t fare any worse than anyone else has against Philadelphia’s MVP candidate.

Embiid went for 32 points on 11-of-19 shooting and had 12 rebounds, but Allen kept him off the offensive glass for the most part (Embiid had two on that window).

Offensively, Allen had a strong game, but missed a couple of inside looks that reminded us that he should look to use the glass on some of those three- to five-foot looks from the post positions on either side of the rim — the straight-on shots are where he tends to aim rather than shoot.

He had also been locked in from the foul line of late, hitting 84 percent over his last six games, but was 3-for-5 Sunday … with both misses with 3:21 left in the game.

That was a crucial time for the Nets to be left with an empty possession, particularly after Allen made such a heady play to get to an offensive rebound before being hacked on the putback attempt.

A. 34 MIN, 38 PTS, 16-for-28 (2-for-6), 8 REB (1 ORB), 8 AST, 1 TO, 1 BLK, -1. PG. Brooklyn Nets. D'ANGELO RUSSELL

D’Angelo Russell followed up one of his worst outing of the season with perhaps his best overall game as a Brooklyn Nets, going off for a 38-point, eight-rebound, eight-assist gem in a losing effort.

It was a season-high for Russell in points, as well as his top scoring output since joining the Nets before the 2017-18 season.

He had the whole array of mid-range jumpers, difficult layups from every angle and floaters in the lane on display, torching the 76ers on a night when his 3-point touch wasn’t there.

More importantly, he got his points within the confines of the offense. He still dished eight assists against just one turnover and there was really only a couple of his 28 shot attempts that were forced or of the heat-check variety.

Philadelphia took to blitzing Russell with double teams off the high pick-and-roll because they were simply out of options.

It worked to the extent it got the ball out of Russell’s hands and forced other players to become offensive decision-makers. When it wasn’t Spencer Dinwiddie, results were decidedly mixed at best.