Philadelphia 76ers 109-122 Brooklyn Nets: Twitter stunned as Kyrie-less Nets roll Sixers

Tonight's matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets was a very highly anticipated Eastern conference battle.

However, an hour before tip-off, reports flooded the feed regarding Kyrie Irving's status changing to 'out' for personal reasons.

Nets star Kyrie Irving will miss tonight's game against the 76ers due to personal reasons.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 7, 2021

Steve Nash said he does not know why Kyrie Irving won't play tonight against the Sixers, as in, he is unaware of what KI's personal issue is. Nash said he reached out to Kyrie and did not hear back
— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) January 7, 2021

The Brooklyn Nets were missing more than one of their stars as Kevin Durant remained out due to COVID-19 precautions. However, they had lots of help from their role-players, with Joe Harris and Jared Allen having great nights.

Everything was going right for the Nets tonight, as they showed their ability to perform without their best players.

Brooklyn Nets still strong without their stars, stun Philadelphia 76ers

The Brooklyn Nets led the Philadelphia 76ers for most of the game and were able to keep pressure throughout. With the victory, they ended the Sixers' five-game win streak and improved to 5-4 on the season.

Caris LeVert filled the point guard position in Irving's absence. He filled the role quite nicely, tallying 18 points in the first half on the way to a 22-point, 10-assist performance.

The Brooklyn Nets should be very encouraged by this victory and will certainly be one of the most dangerous teams in the league when they are at full strength.

Here's how Twitter reacted to the game:

The Sixers had the best record entering tonight’s game vs. Brooklyn, and the Nets still got the W, without KD and Kyrie. 😳 pic.twitter.com/35kKpG4VHN
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 8, 2021

Sixers blow an opportunity with a 122-109 loss to Kyrie and KD-less Brooklyn. Struggle City in pretty much every respect, but it feels like they lost this game last night when they couldn't close out a team despite shooting 100 percent from the field.
— Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) January 8, 2021

Points off turnovers:
Sixers - 7
Nets - 35

That's the game right there.
— Kevin McCormick (@KevinMcC973) January 8, 2021

The Brooklyn Nets' leading scorer was Joe Harris, who exploded off the bench with 28 points. The Nets' defense forced a season-high 20 turnovers and were able to capitalize on the 76ers' mistakes.

Joel Embiid finished the game with 20 points and 12 rebounds but could not rally his team to mount a comeback as time ticked away. The Philadelphia 76ers fell to 7-2 with the loss and will likely be addressing their turnover issues moving forward.

Here are more Twitter reactions on the Brooklyn Nets' big win:

How about JOEY BUCKETS tonight? 💦💦💦 season-high 25 points so far! pic.twitter.com/mkOkohXZ2W
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 8, 2021

Philly losing to the Nets tonight was we call a trap game...meaning they let their guards down because Kyrie and Kd weren’t playing. On top of that coming off a back to back...this type of thing happens all the time! Let’s not overreact now. Carry on...
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) January 8, 2021

No Kyrie. No KD. No Dinwiddie. No problem.

The Brooklyn Nets beat the Philadelphia 76ers behind a 22-point, 10-assist, 7 rebound performance by Caris LeVert. pic.twitter.com/jMaERGDBa6
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) January 8, 2021

The two teams will meet again on February 6th, hopefully featuring their healthiest five players for what could be a 2021 playoff preview. The Brooklyn Nets hold the first game of the series for now and should feel very good about this win.

The Philadelphia 76ers will go on to play the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, January 9th. Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets' next game on the road will be against Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies.

There are no reports on Kyrie Irving's status moving forward, and he is presumed to be out until further notice.