NEW YORK (AP) — Joel Embiid had 28 points and 12 rebounds, and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Brooklyn Nets 123-94 on Saturday night.
Tyrese Maxey added 18 points and Paul George and Caleb Martin each had 17 for the 76ers, who snapped a two-game losing streak.
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Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid (21) drives past Brooklyn Nets' Jalen Wilson (22) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Philadelphia 76ers' Tyrese Maxey (0) passes the ball away from Brooklyn Nets' De'Anthony Melton (8) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Philadelphia 76ers' Guerschon Yabusele (28) drives past Brooklyn Nets' Jalen Wilson (22) and Tyrese Martin during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid (21) shoots over Brooklyn Nets' Nic Claxton (33) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid fights for control of the ball with Brooklyn Nets' Nic Claxton (33) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Ziaire Williams had 19 points and Keon Johnson chipped in 15 for the short-handed Nets, who have lost 12 out of their last 16 games.
Brooklyn was playing without starters Cam Thomas (left strained ankle), Cam Johnson (right sprained ankle) and Ben Simmons (sore left calf).
The injuries to Thomas and Cam Johnson took place during Thursday’s victory at Milwaukee while Simmons was ruled out just before tip-off.
Philadelphia fell behind 11-0 with 10:20 remaining in the opening period before blitzing the Nets with a 29-8 run to close out quarter.
The 76ers kept the rhythm going in the second quarter, shooting 57% to take a 64-47 lead heading into the break.
76ers: Philadelphia had 31 assists on 42 of the shots that were made. Maxey had seven assists, while Embiid and George contributed six apiece.
Nets: The team said Cam Johnson will miss the next three games, and that he and Thomas will also be evaluated again during the upcoming western trip that starts Friday in Denver.
The 76ers trailed 13-9 when Embiid got called for a technical foul after he got tangled up with Keon Johnson, who refused to let go off the ball under the basket. Embiid, who had missed his first two shots of the game, then scored three consecutive baskets and finished the first quarter with 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting.
Embiid hit all 10 free throws.
The 76ers return home Monday to host Phoenix, while the Nets host Indiana.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid (21) drives past Brooklyn Nets' Jalen Wilson (22) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Philadelphia 76ers' Tyrese Maxey (0) passes the ball away from Brooklyn Nets' De'Anthony Melton (8) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Philadelphia 76ers' Guerschon Yabusele (28) drives past Brooklyn Nets' Jalen Wilson (22) and Tyrese Martin during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid (21) shoots over Brooklyn Nets' Nic Claxton (33) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid fights for control of the ball with Brooklyn Nets' Nic Claxton (33) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke never developed enough synergy, if any at all.
Pederson thought talent was Jacksonville's bigger issue as losses mounted; Baalke believed coaching was the problem. Regardless, the pairing wasn't working in Year 3 — and everyone inside the building knew it.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan could have justified a complete overhaul. Instead, the billionaire businessman settled for choosing between the duo. He opted for Baalke, a questionable decision that could affect who becomes Jacksonville’s next head coach.
Khan fired Pederson on Monday, a day after a 26-23 overtime loss at Indianapolis. It was the team’s 18th loss in its last 23 games. More surprising, he kept Baalke.
“I didn't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater,” Khan said during a Zoom.
Khan added that rebooting the coaching staff, the scouting department and the rest of the football operations staff would amount to firing roughly 85 people.
“To change all of that is almost like suicidal," he said. "That’s like shooting yourself in the foot. We need to go to work on something that is broken, that needs to be fixed and continually be improving things that are working.”
Khan made the move with one year remaining on Pederson’s contract and more than five months after the owner stood in front of coaches and players and declared this the “best team assembled by the Jacksonville Jaguars ever."
“Winning now” was Khan’s edict as training camp opened and after he committed nearly half a billion dollars to signing quarterback Trevor Lawrence, pass rusher Josh Hines-Allen and cornerback Tyson Campbell to long-term deals in the offseason. It was the most expensive stretch of roster building in franchise history.
And Khan got little return on his investment.
He blamed predictability on both sides of the ball as the main culprit in the team's downfall.
“Deception is a big part of it,” Khan said. “Unpredictability. If you know exactly what we’re going to do on offense or defense, you better have the 22 best players to help us win a football game. So being unpredictable is, I think, is modern football, and we have to be able to show that on the field.”
Pederson, who in 2018 led the Eagles to their first Super Bowl title, finished 9-8 in his first two seasons in Jacksonville and made the playoffs in his first year. He became the first coach in franchise history to start with back-to-back winning seasons and was a welcome relief following Urban Meyer’s 13-game tenure that was filled with dysfunction.
But Pederson’s injury-riddled team went 1-5 down the stretch in 2023 and missed the postseason after spending nearly two months atop the AFC South. He thought getting Lawrence healthy and revamping his defensive staff would change the team’s fortunes. Neither made a difference.
“It's unfortunate because at the end of the day we all had a hand in it,” receiver Christian Kirk said. “I have a ton of respect for Doug. He’s made me a better football player, better man. I think he’s one of the better coaches to have coached in this league, and it’s just unfortunate the way that things went.”
More damning: Pederson failed to develop Lawrence or create a team identity, handed play-calling duties to Press Taylor despite Khan making his wishes known and showed no urgency to try to fix a defense that regressed under new coordinator Ryan Nielsen.
“There’s a lot of factors that have gone into our season,” tight end Evan Engram said Monday. “It’s not just the coaching. It's everybody."
The Jaguars (4-13) have notched double-digit losses in 10 of Khan’s 13 years as owner. Now, Khan will hire his sixth head coach; current and creative NFL offensive coordinators Ben Johnson (Detroit) and Liam Coen (Tampa Bay) should top the list. But would they even agree to work with Baalke, whose draft picks have been mostly suspect and his latest free-agent class is arguably the worst in franchise history?
The 56-year-old Pederson went 23-30 with Jacksonville, a far cry from the Super Bowl-winning coach Khan thought he hired in February 2021.
His tenure with Jacksonville was mostly forgettable. Sure, there was the come-from-behind stunner over the Los Angeles Chargers in the AFC wild-card round in January 2023 in which Lawrence rallied the Jaguars from a 27-0 deficit and won 31-30. Otherwise, Pederson was fairly pedestrian.
His ultimate undoing came in close games, with Jacksonville going 3-10 in one-score contests this season. Whether that’s talent or coaching is debatable. Regardless, Pederson got little public support from players down the stretch.
Now Khan has to find the right coach to get Lawrence — and the rest of the team — to another level. It also will have to be someone amenable to working with Baalke, whose coaching list includes Jim Harbaugh (2011-14), Jim Tomsula (2015), Chip Kelly (2022), Meyer (2021) and Pederson (2022-24).
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson speaks during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Indianapolis. The Colts won 26-23 in overtime. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson pauses during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Indianapolis. The Colts won 26-23 in overtime. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson pauses during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Indianapolis. The Colts won 26-23 in overtime. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
