Joel Embiid said to his teammates during tonight’s game that the Nets couldn’t guard him, and, well, he wasn’t wrong. 

In Brooklyn’s final preseason game, the Nets lost mightily to the 76ers, 133-114. The game was played at the G League affiliate Long Island Nets’ new home, NYCB Live, Home of Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. (Other than the clocks not working at the beginning of the game, all went smoothly at the venue.)

Embiid, though, who put up 22 points in 15 minutes, was not the only player the Nets could not stop. Dario Saric put up 25 points on the night, draining five of eight three-pointers and shooting 10-of-14 from the field.

Not a bad night for those two.

The whole Sixers starting lineup, which included Ben Simmons and JJ Redick, was efficient and wreaked havoc on Brooklyn through the night. 

Philly’s bench even scored 71 points on the night, compared to Brooklyn’s 53. 

With that, the Nets’ start wasn’t terrible — Rondae Hollis-Jefferson was hitting his shots, DeMarre Carroll made some threes and unselfish basketball was still on display. 

The Nets held a 10-point lead on the Sixers heading into the first timeout. After that, Philly went on an extended 27-1 run that went into the second quarter. Brooklyn could not find a rhythm and missed 13 straight shots before Joe Harris played savior with a three-ball to end the drought. 

While the Nets went to the free throw line 36 times, they only made 23 of them, good for 63.9 percent.

One player that took advantage of his time at the stripe was Embiid, whom most of Brooklyn’s fouls came against. Embiid shot 14-of-18 from the free throw line, bolstering his point total.

After a 76-51 halftime deficit, the progression of the second half was much of the same. Philly kept up with Brooklyn’s three-point production and kept a safe lead through the rest of the game. 

After Brooklyn’s second team struggles, it couldn’t recover. The Nets won the fourth quarter 30-21, but it was too-little-too-late. 

One Nets positive was that D’Angelo Russell had another good offensive showing, putting up 24 points. While not that efficient (9-of-20 from the field), at least he was producing.

Next up: Regular season, here we come.