The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Brooklyn Nets, 123-117, at Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday.

The 76ers (38-17) and the Nets (37-18) are the top teams in the Eastern Conference and this game held massive playoff implications in terms of the tiebreaker, but the Sixers came through when it mattered the most and they escaped with a tight win that now puts them in complete control of the Eastern Conference standings. Philadelphia jumped out to a 32-28 lead following the first quarter and extended that lead just before the break, cruising their way to a seven-point edge following a 33-30 second-quarter score. The Sixers made it a 10-point game after three quarters and seemed set to win comfortably, but the Nets, who were without Kevin Durant and James Harden, attempted a fourth-quarter comeback. However, Brooklyn's rally fell short (33-29) and Philadelphia ended winning by six points in front of a small 4,094 crowd at Wells Fargo Center.

Joel Embiid led the way for the Sixers with a strong 39-point, 13-rebound performance while also adding two assists and two blocks, and Tobias Harris was the Sixers' second-best scorer thanks to his 26-point outing -- he also added five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal. Ben Simmons had 17 points and nine assists while grabbing four boards and recording three steals, and Shake Milton delivered a strong effort off the bench with 15 points and four dimes.

Kyrie Irving had to carry with Brooklyn's offense and he responded -- the star point guard had 37 points, nine assists, three rebounds and two steals. Jeff Green had 15 points, while DeAndre Jordan mustered 12 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. Landry Shamet contributed 17 points and Bruce Brown added 14 points coming off the bench.