The Brooklyn Nets weathered an early flurry from the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference First Round series Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Then the Nets systematically took the 76ers apart en route to a convincing 111-102 victory to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 series.
Philadelphia made a run early in the second half, riding some of the momentum from Jimmy Butler‘s buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the second quarter to cut what had been a 17-point deficit to just two.
But Brooklyn answered the challenge and finished the third quarter strong, outscoring the 76ers 28-19 the rest of the period to open an 11-point lead entering the fourth.