By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia 76ers (47-30) took care of business on their home court Wednesday night, disposing of the Brooklyn Nets (25-53) by a final score of 121-95.
The victory marked the Sixers' 11th in a row, their longest win streak since notching 12 straight back in 1990, 28 years ago. It's their first time 17 games over .500 since April 2001. It's the first time in Sixers franchise history that they've won nine in a row by double-digits and they are the ninth team to ever do that in NBA history. They also kept up their dominance inside the Wells Fargo Center, earning their 20th win in the last 21 games in Philadelphia since the turn of the calendar year.
Cleveland was able to beat the top-seeded Raptors, so the Sixers remain a half game behind the Cavs for third place with the two team's set to meet in Philadelphia on Friday. Although they didn't gain ground on Cleveland, the fifth place Pacers lost to Denver on the road, so the Sixers now have a 1.5 game cushion over Indiana.
The Sixers out-rebounded the Nets 56-36, had eight more assists (28-20), had just 10 turnovers compared to 18 from Brooklyn. Philly scored 21 points off of the Nets miscues. In addition, the Sixers were sharp from the floor all night, shooting 54.3 percent overall and 42.1 percent from beyond the arc and outscored the Nets by 30 (62-32) in the paint.
Because of the big point differential, Sixers starters once again got to rest in the fourth. J.J. Redick led all Sixers scorers with 19 while Ben Simmons finished the game four assists shy of a triple-double with 15 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for a +21 on the night. Starters Robert Covington and Ersan Ilyasova scored 12 and 11, respectively. Markelle Fultz finished with 10 points in 20 minutes of action, going 5-for-8 from the floor and adding three assists, two rebounds a block to his stat line.
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 16 to lead the Nets while former Sixers Jahlil Okafor and Nik Stauskas had strong showings, getting the majority of their minutes when the Nets were already down big. Jah had 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting while Nik finished with 13 points.
The Sixers and Nets had trouble getting the scoring going early, with the two teams combining for just five points in the first three plus minutes of play. A Nets 12-2 run put them ahead 22-17 with 3:17 to go in the first, but the Sixers responded with an 11-0 run over the last three minutes of the quarter to lead 28-22 heading into the second. Ben Simmons (8) and Ersan Ilyasova (7) combined to score 15 of Philadelphia's 28 first quarter points. Markelle Fultz found Richaun Holmes for a dunk to end the quarter, threading the needle between two Nets defenders.
The drop-off, the jam. pic.twitter.com/qowPO2Japm
— x – Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) April 3, 2018
Philadelphia started the second on a 5-0 run, making it 16 unanswered going back to the first, but a DeMarre Carroll three forced Brett Brown to take an early timeout with his team leading 33-25. The Nets cut the Sixer lead to four, 35-31, but Philadelphia scored the next five points to extend their lead to seven. Brooklyn made most of their shots from beyond arc, as their 12th triple of the night cut the Sixers advantage to 48-46 with 3:30 left in the half. A Robert Covington block on one end paired with a Robert Covington three on the other end put Philly back up by seven, 53-46.
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Cov getting it done on both ends of the floor with a massive rejection and a triple to put the Sixers up 53-46. pic.twitter.com/eVxM6M5YV8
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) April 3, 2018
The Sixers ended the second quarter on a 13-4 spurt, leading at the half 61-49. J.J. Redick led the Sixers with 13 at the midway point while Ben Simmons had a busy 24 minutes, scoring 12 points to go along with nine rebounds and four assists. He accounted for four of the team's six turnovers in the first half. Overall, the Sixers shot 51.1 percent and 42.1 percent from beyond the arc.
The Nets scored 36 of their 49 first half points via the three-ball with only five two-point makes and three free throws. Joe Harris led Brooklyn with 11 at the half.
The Sixers kept the pedal on the medal in the third, starting the quarter on an 11-1 run to expand the advantage to 22, 72-50. Midway through the third, Philadelphia maintained their large lead, 80-56, with two straight buckets coming from Markelle Fultz, upping his total to six points early in his second run of the night.
.@MarkelleF gettin' crafty. pic.twitter.com/2bQKCpeLQm
— x – Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) April 4, 2018
At the end of the third, the Sixers led 93-71, outscoring Brooklyn by 10 in the quarter and they'd cruise to a 121-95 win in this one, their 11th in a row.
Up Next:
The Sixers hit the road for game two of their back-to-back on Wednesday night against the Pistons at 7pm.
