Brooklyn Nets roll past Philadelphia 76ers in preseason, pouring in 20 threes and 31 assists

The Brooklyn Nets put together one of the more lopsided preseason statements of the early October slate, beating the Philadelphia 76ers by 34 points in a game that emphasized spacing, pace, and passing more than late-game execution. While teams often treat these matchups as evaluation windows, the Nets’ 34-point margin and efficiency from distance turned the contest into a referendum on who could execute in the half-court.

Brooklyn’s perimeter production set the tone. The Nets connected on 20 of 37 attempts from three-point range, a number that did not come from a single run or a fluky stretch. It reflected a long enough sample that the 76ers had to adjust to make fewer and fewer attempts possible as the game progressed.

The Nets also leaned heavily into team offense, finishing with 31 assists. In preseason, high assist totals can sometimes come from repeated looks in rotation, but 31 still indicates sustained creation rather than a one-dimensional drive-and-kick rhythm. For a team searching for consistent offensive identity, that blend of shooting volume and shared shot-making is a tangible takeaway.

A notable wrinkle was the absence of Mikel Brown Jr. The Nets played without him and still found a way to generate quality looks from multiple spots on the floor. In a game framed around minutes for key players, Brooklyn was able to absorb that change without sacrificing spacing or ball movement.

Both teams used the preseason as a chance to sort out rotations, but the preview framing suggested Brooklyn’s stars logged the most meaningful minutes. That matters because preseason evaluations are often about how starters handle longer stretches together and whether the offensive habits look repeatable when the game slows down.

After this game, the Nets head home to Barclays Center for the first and only time during the preseason. That detail is more than trivia, as Barclays is also where the Nets will be trying to translate early-season adjustments into habits that carry through regular-season travel and tougher stretches.

For the 76ers, the result is primarily a calibration exercise. They will be looking for answers on the defensive side, especially defending the three-point line and limiting the kind of passing sequences that lead to open looks. Preseason games do not determine playoff matchups, but shooting numbers like 20-of-37 from deep often point to structural issues that can be fixed or can linger if they are not addressed quickly.