PHILADELPHIA — Spencer Dinwiddie had a career night, but it would have gone to waste without big performances from Nets reserves Rodions Kurucs and Ed Davis.
Kurucs had a career-high 13 points and played every second of the fourth quarter as the Nets held off the 76ers, 127-124, on Wednesday night. Davis added seven points and 10 rebounds and was used on Joel Embiid when Jarrett Allen struggled to slow down the Sixers superstar.
“We all wanted it, and we got it. We played together, we played with energy and we showed we want to win,” Kurucs said.
“I thought Rodi had really good minutes. Ed Davis kind of saved us a little bit against [Joel] Embiid, his strength. Our bench was really good, I thought everybody contributed,” said coach Kenny Atkinson, who trusted the 20-year-old Kurucs down the stretch.
“Yeah, you didn’t know what was going to happen it was fun for all of us. He threw one in the third row and then he made two huge tip-aways from [Ben] Simmons. Simmons tried to post him. That’s his length. He gives us length and activity. Again, he forced us to keep him in there.”
For Kurucs, largely treated like persona non grata his last season in Barcelona because he refused to sign an extension, having Atkinson’s trust is special.
“That means a lot. That means a lot to me because before I didn’t have that coach that believed in me, it means a lot because guys trust in me, coach trusts in me, and they give me that energy to go on the floor every day and work my ass off,” Kurucs said. “I’ve never had this kind of team, this kind of collective.”
After Embiid had 23 points and 13 boards in the first half, Davis guarded him more in the second half. Allen didn’t play a second in the fourth quarter, with Davis logging 10:05, and Embiid had just 10 points after the break.
“Oh, man, Ed’s great. He very rarely makes mistakes, great depth for us and obviously our best rebounder,” Dinwiddie said. “And Rodi plays with so much energy. He makes winning plays. … He got the big-time drive when they cut it to five or six. So just the energy that they play with sparks our unit.”
Allen Crabbe has started 15 straight games, shooting 47-of-101 from 3-point range and hitting multiple 3-pointers in 12 of those games. That’s a far cry from the way he struggled through his first 13 games of the season, when he shot just 18-of-67 (26.9 percent) from deep, making multiple 3s only four times.
“[He’s] just playing better, feeling better,” Atkinson said. “I’d say globally, not just made shots, but just playing better basketball. For a great shooter, his confidence will waver sometimes. I think his confidence was wavering. He’s just feeling more comfortable. I think putting him in the starting lineup, saying ‘You’re starting,’ I think that’s helped him too.”
