Saric leads shorthanded Sixers past Nets
NEW YORK -- Dario Saric scored 23 points and the Philadelphia 76ers outlasted the Brooklyn Nets for a 106-101 victory Tuesday night.
Saric led the 76ers in scoring for the 17th time by making 8 of 15 shots as Philadelphia beat the Nets for the third time this season in a game that featured 21 lead changes and 12 ties.
Robert Covington added 21 points and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot scored 17 for the 76ers, who had nine available players due to injuries.
Richaun Holmes contributed 13 points while Nik Stauskas chipped in 11 and T.J McConnell handed out 10 assists for the Sixers.
Brook Lopez led the Nets with 26 points, nine rebounds and six assists but was provided little help. Rondae-Hollis Jefferson and Jeremy Lin added 11 apiece but were a combined 9 of 29 from the field as the Nets shot 40.4 percent and were unable to win for the fourth time in five games.
Neither team led by more than five in the final 10 minutes of the fourth, which featured 10 lead changes and four ties. Philadelphia finally grabbed the lead for good when Covington swooped in to put back a miss of McConnell's jumper with 86 seconds left for a 102-101 edge
After Lin was called for traveling on the next possession, McConnell converted two free throws. Lopez missed an open game-tying 3-pointer attempt with 32.9 seconds remaining.
With 8.4 seconds left, the Sixers struggled to get the ball inbounds and burned two timeouts. After using the timeouts, Holmes iced the game at the line with seven seconds left, and the game ended when Saric secured the rebound of 3-point attempt by Justin Hamilton.
NOTES: C Jahlil Okafor (right knee soreness) sat out for the third straight game and fourth time in five games, leading to speculation the 76ers are shutting him down for the rest of the season. Coach Brett Brown said shutting down Okafor has not come up in any conversations as of Tuesday. "He wants to play," Brown said. "He doesn't want this." ... Brooklyn G Sean Kilpatrick returned after missing seven games with a strained left hamstring. ... Philadelphia G Sergio Rodriguez (left hamstring tightness) missed the game and will be re-evaluated in a week. ... Nets G Joe Harris (sprained left shoulder) missed his 14th straight game. ... Philadelphia G Gerald Henderson (left hip soreness) sat out.