The Nets-Sixers showdown offered fans three specific opportunities, no matter the end result.

1. The Sixers defeated them on December 18th thanks to some late-game heroics to Joel Embiid — could they avenge their cellar-dweller loss?

2. Should the Nets lose again, at least their disappointment would be done and dusted before the New York Giants’ 4:30PM playoff game against the Green Bay Packers.

3. A matinee showcase for Caris LeVert, Joel Embiid, Dario Saric, Isaiah Whitehead, Nerlens Noel, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson? That alone is worth the pilgrimage to Barclays Center and the attendance today showed it.

Energized by the early start — or the thought of Eli Manning in the fourth quarter of a playoff game — the Nets played a solid first quarter, jumped out to a decent lead through Brook Lopez and Justin Hamilton, the latter looking stronger each game after getting a new prescription for his contacts.

The improved effort from the now fully-guaranteed Spencer Dinwiddie, the rapidly evolving Caris LeVert, and some frisky minutes from Rondae Hollis-Jefferson buoyed the Nets as Dario Saric exploded for 12 first half points of his own. Although Lopez (18 points) and Bogdanovic came on strong for the Nets towards the end of the second quarter, it was a bench that scored 25 first-half points that helped the Nets find much of their success.

12 early turnovers (5 from Whitehead, 3 from Sean Kilpatrick) allowed the 76ers to hang around for much of the half, but a late 9-0 run spurned on by Whitehead’s huge block and a Lopez three-pointer pushed the Nets’ lead to 57-46 at the break.

However, if you thought the Sunday-afternoon Nets wouldn’t be prone to #3rdQuarterNets, well, unfortunately, you’d have been wrong and 3 quick turnovers, a Lopez airball, and a 13-0 run from the 76ers would put them down 59-57. Following yet another turnover-prone frenzy, a Nik Stauskas-surging Sixers outscored the Nets 32-16 in the quarter, effectively turning an 11-point lead into a 5-point deficit.

With 5 minutes to go in the game, the Nets found themselves down just 89-87 thanks to an all-important 8 points from Kilpatrick, but the turnover troubles continued to grow. 22 turnovers! Twenty! Veintidos! The only Nets players to not record a turnover were Justin Hamilton and Trevor Booker, who left the game (but would eventually return) shortly after halftime with a left hip contusion.

Good grief, Charlie Brown.

In the end, horrible shot selection, careless ball handling, and a paltry 2 points from Lopez in the final frame doomed the Nets to a second-straight loss to Philadelphia and sixth-straight overall.

Yikes.

Inadequacy, something that nobody does quite as well as the Nets.