PHILADELPHIA — The Nets got an all-time performance from Cam Johnson.
And they did nothing but waste it in a 113-98 loss to Philadelphia on Friday night.
Despite Johnson matching the best shooting night of his career, the Nets’ sloppiness and turnovers cost them in front of a sellout crowd of 19,817 at Wells Fargo Center that relished booing former Sixer Ben Simmons every time he touched the ball.
Johnson finished with 37 points and went a career-high, tying 9 of 13 from deep.
He was one point shy of his career high.
But it still wasn’t enough.
The Nets committed 19 turnovers to give Philadelphia 28 points.
And many came in the pivotal fourth quarter as they fell to a Philadelphia team that played without injured All-Stars Joel Embiid and Paul George.
It was Johnson, fittingly, who drilled a 3-pointer to put the Nets up 90-89 with 7:25 to play, but they coughed up nine unanswered over the next three minutes, capped by a Tyrese Maxey layup.
Cam Thomas had 18 points but shot just 6 of 15, forced the ball and committed an unsightly seven turnovers to help fuel the Sixers’ fast break.
They never challenged again.
The Nets fell to 6-10 and 1-2 in the NBA Cup.
Philadelphia improved to just 3-12, 1-2 in the NBA Cup. Jared McCain had 30 points and Maxey 26.
The Nets trailed by 13 early.
Thomas gave the ball away to Guerschon Yabusele, who fed Maxey for a fast break dunk. Remember that, because it’s a trend.
The Nets found themselves trailing 51-38 with 3:27 left in the first half before they mounted an extended 26-4 run that spanned intermission.
Brooklyn went into the locker room trailing by just three.
And it reeled off the last 14 unanswered of the run, with Dorian Finney-Smith hitting from the right corner to cap the blitz and make it 64-55 with nine minutes left in the third.
The Nets led multiple times by nine, and it was still 70-62 after Johnson’s layup with 7:07 left in the third before they got sloppy.
Thomas, who’d been pulled earlier in the game after forcing an ill-advised shot, committed multiple turnovers in a 15-2 Philadelphia run.
The second — getting stripped by Maxey for a breakaway dunk that cut Brooklyn’s lead to 70-69 — saw Jordi Fernandez call a timeout and lift Thomas for Jalen Wilson.
Reggie Jackson’s 3-pointer capped the run and left Brooklyn down 77-72 with 2:36 in the third.
The fourth was a back-and-forth affair, until the final 9-0 run that sealed it.
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