Jared McCain and Tyrese Maxey's big nights halt Sixers' losing streak at five with win over Nets

PHILADELPHIA — No Joel Embiid. No Paul George. No problem.

The undermanned 76ers had one of their most impressive performances, defeating the Brooklyn Nets, 113-98, in Friday’s NBA Cup contest at the Wells Fargo Center.

The victory improved them to 3-12 overall and 1-2 in East Group A play in the NBA Cup. It also snapped the Sixers’ five-game losing streak.

Jared McCain and Tyrese Maxey had a lot to do with the outcome.

McCain, the Sixers’ rookie guard, finished with a team-high 30 points while making 6 of 11 3-pointers, along with five rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Maxey finished with 26 points on 11-for-17 shooting to go with five assists, four rebounds and a game-high four steals in his second game back from being sidelined with a strained right hamstring.

Kelly Oubre Jr. (11 points), Caleb Martin (10 points), Guerschon Yabusele (10 points, 11 rebounds) and reserve center Andre Drummond (10 points) were the other double-figure scorers.

The Sixers had a season-high 13 steals.

Friday was the first of two games Embiid will miss because of swelling in his left knee. The Sixers said they would provide further updates about his availability next week. Meanwhile, George will also miss both games this weekend with a left knee bone bruise. He will be reevaluated on Monday.

The Sixers can only hope that they can duplicate Friday’s energy while playing without their perennial All-Stars on Sunday against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Sixers won, but had a tough time stopping Cam Johnson.

The 6-foot-8 small forward finished with a game-high 37 points while making 9 of 12 3-pointers. He hit back-to-back 3s early in the fourth quarter to give Brooklyn an 83-79 advantage.

However, the Sixers responded with an 8-4 run to tie the score at 87.

A McCain layup gave the Sixers a 91-90 lead with 5 minutes, 50 seconds remaining. The rookie guard added a 3-pointer 26 seconds later to put the Sixers up 94-90, leading to Brooklyn calling a timeout.

The Sixers extended their lead to eight points following consecutive layups by Maxey. Then after Brooklyn’s Cam Thomas scored a basket, Maxey drained a 3-pointer to make it a 101-92 game. And the Sixers lead stretched to 11 points after Maxey’s steal and breakaway dunk with 2:27 left.