Sixers praise De’Anthony Melton for defensive play in win over Nets
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NEW YORK–The Philadelphia 76ers were able to get on the hardwood on Monday night and play an opponent for the first time in the preseason. That opponent was the Brooklyn Nets who pose a threat led by Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Ben Simmons.
The Sixers were able to make a big statement in the opening quarter as they held the Nets to 26 points and they built a lead as large as 19 in the first quarter on their way to a 127-108 win on the road.
Philadelphia was swarming on defense and they had a ton of success on offense led by their starting backcourt of De’Anthony Melton and Tyrese Maxey. Melton, making his Sixers debut, only shot 2-for-10 from the floor, but he had three steals as he was terrific on the defensive end.
“I thought defensively, number 1, De’Anthony, as you can see, he just gets his hands, he’s so active,” said coach Doc Rivers. “He’s just a solid defensive player, he knows how to play. I like the pace that both of them played with. We got the ball. I thought the first six or eight minutes offensively, we were phenomenal. Then after that, I thought we started chasing shots as a team a little bit more, but first eight minutes, the defense was great and the ball movement was phenomenal.”
Melton’s defense combined with Maxey’s offensive prowess allowed Philadelphia to have so much offensive success in the early going. The two of them played with such pace and that’s going to be a big key for the Sixers moving forward.
“I think us two out there on the court is gonna be very high-paced,” said Melton. “Especially, just for me being able to create turnovers and him out there, too. He’s definitely taking on more of a role on the defensive end and in training camp and stuff like that so getting out there, moving the ball, shooting 3s, I think us two on the court, I think that’s gonna happen a lot this year.”
The Sixers were able to get a taste of what a Melton and Maxey backcourt duo can do on Monday and now they are hoping they can take this success and continue to build on it for the future.
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