Bojan Bogdanovic's career night too much for undermanned Sixers

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NEW YORK -- One player proved to be too much for 10 Sixers.

The Sixers, down a third of the team because of injuries, were overpowered by career-high 44 points from Bojan Bogdanovic. He scored 17 points in the first quarter alone in the Nets 131-114 win Tuesday at Barclays Center (see Instant Replay).

Bogdanovic's previous career high was 28 against the Orlando Magic last season. His 44 points on Tuesday were the most for a Nets player since the team moved to Brooklyn and the most for the franchise since Deron Williams scored 57 in 2012.

“I think a large part is he’s just a big wing and we had a hard time matching up,” Sixers head coach Brett Brown said. “I feel like we missed the matchup of Jerami (Grant) maybe on him or Robert Covington on him where we sort of went smaller. The biggest wing we had was Hollis (Thompson). We ran out of some bodies on matchups with him. But it shouldn’t take away from the great game that he had.”

The return dates for Grant and Covington (concussion protocols) are not finalized and Richaun Holmes (Achilles strain) is not expected to play until the West Coast trip next week. As a result, many of the Sixers are playing out of position to fill holes left by injuries.

The Sixers’ upcoming schedule of four games between Thursday and Monday is just as challenging as a shorthanded lineup. Still, Brown doesn’t let the limited roster determine the game before it starts.

“You feel like you can steal a win,” he said. “You feel like you can try to do something to go steal a road win. I think when you have five games in seven days and you have 10 players and you’re trying to play Kendall (Marshall) at a four and trying to get as many minutes as you can from Elton (Brand), maybe that reality hits a little bit harder. But you don’t really think like that.”

Seven of the Sixers logged more than 20 minutes on Tuesday. All but newcomer Sonny Weems clocked more than 12. Following the loss, they pointed more to their performance and their lineup as the cause of the defeat.

“We’ve got 10 guys, that’s enough,” Ish Smith said. “You’re supposed to play five at a time. We just had a slow first quarter and they came out fast. I think that was the difference maker.”

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