Brooklyn Nets: 3 questions looking ahead to must-win Game 4

The Brooklyn Nets squandered homecourt advantage with a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 3 and now face an all-but must-win scenario in Game 4.

Trailing the Philadelphia 76ers 2-1 in their Eastern Conference First Round series, Game 4 on Saturday afternoon isn’t an elimination game for the Brooklyn Nets.

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But it might as well be.

The Nets had stolen the homecourt advantage with their 111-102 victory at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia in Game 1 and the 76ers evened things up with a lopsided 145-123 win in Game 2.

But after the Sixers again pounded the Nets, this time at Barclays Center in Game 3 Thursday night by a count of 131-115, homecourt advantage has swung back to Philadelphia and Brooklyn faces a near must-win scenario for Saturday’s Game 4.

A Nets win makes it a best-of-3 sprint to the finish, with two of the games set to be played in the City of Brotherly Love.

A loss makes it a 3-1 lead for the 76ers and an uphill battle for Brooklyn just to get another game at Barclays Center this season.

How did the Nets end up here?

In Games 2 and 3, the 76ers have physically bullied the Nets, with huge advantages in rebounding in each game, and the Nets have gotten away from their ball-movement emphasis on the offensive end, finishing Game 3 with 12 assists, their second-lowest total of the season.

The 76ers played without All-NBA center Joel Embiid in Game 3 and it didn’t really end up mattering all that much.

Brooklyn still got pushed around inside by journeyman Greg Monroe and gigantic Boban Marjanovic.

The duo combined for 23 points and 21 rebounds, 13 of those from Monroe … a guy who was with four different teams this season, including Brooklyn for about five minutes at the trade deadline before he was bought out and cut loose.

Here are three questions looking ahead to Game 4.