Nets : Nets lose ugly game in Ben Simmons’ return to Philadelphia

 In his first game back on the floor at Wells Fargo Center, Ben Simmons put up a double-double for the Nets, but despite a shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers lineup the Nets still fell on Tuesday night. 

The Nets struggled to knock down the open threes, lost the battle along the offensive glass and couldn’t get the timely stops when they managed to close the gap in a 115-106 loss to the Sixers. Most of the lead-up to the game centered around Simmons’ return to Philadelphia, but the Sixers spoiled that return leading for the better part of the night even as the Nets hung around. 

“Overall, the approach. Boils down to that. Just overall as a group how serious, how focused, how dedicated were we on every possession,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said. “Haven’t asked the group that. I will ask them that. Overall, just not what we needed. That’s the great thing about basketball, you pay for it if you don’t bring it.”