76ers 90, Nets 88

NEW YORK — Center Nerlens Noel had the tiebreaking dunk with 3.2 seconds remaining and the Philadelphia 76ers rallied from a 13-point deficit for a 90-88 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night.

Noel finished with 12 points and his biggest play capped an impressive comeback for the 76ers, who improved to 6-29.

After Brooklyn center Brook Lopez hit a 13-footer with 25.3 seconds left for an 88-88 tie, point guard Michael Carter-Williams drove by guard Jarrett Jack and forward Mason Plumlee unimpeded to the baseline and found Noel for the dramatic dunk.

Noel also had a hand in the final defensive stop.

The Nets were looking to get the inbounds to forward Joe Johnson but he was covered by forward Luc Mbah a Moute. Instead, the ball wound up in center Brook Lopez’s hands and while Noel guarded him, he missed a long jumper in the final seconds.

Forward Robert Covington scored seven of his 20 points in the fourth, including a 3-pointer with 3:12 remaining for an 86-85 lead. Mbah a Moute added 16 while point guard Tony Wroten had 12, including the layup that gave the 76ers an 87-86 lead with 2:41 left.

Lopez had 18 points and Plumlee had 15 and 15 rebounds for the Nets, who lost their fourth straight. Jack had 14 points while Johnson also scored 14 for Brooklyn, which led 68-55 with 2:20 left in the third.

NOTES: Because the Nets are facing the difficult front line of Detroit’s Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond on Saturday, coach Lionel Hollins rested F Kevin Garnett. Garnett normally sits out at least one part of a back-to-back. … Asked if Brooklyn’s offensive struggles were a matter of missing shots or not grasping concepts, Hollins responded, “What concepts, pick-and-roll — simple, stand over there, stand over there, run pick-and-roll, come behind ,get the open shot and make it. It’s as simple as that, it’s not like we have some complicated offense that nobody’s ever seen before.” … Philadelphia swingman Hollis Thompson missed his 10th straight game with an upper respiratory that began Dec. 19. Thompson has lost 20 pounds because of the illness, but coach Brent Brown said he has gained eight to 10 pounds back and could return before the All-Star break. … Philadelphia F Luc Mbah a Moute returned from missing two games because of turf toe in his left foot and was in the starting lineup for the 29th straight game that he appeared in.