PHILADELPHIA — Noah Clowney‘s NBA education continued on Wednesday against a stocky, physical Philadelphia 76ers frontcourt pair of Andre Drummond and Frenchman Guerschon Yabusele. Clowney played on the lankier side throughout his rookie season but spent the offseason packing on muscle. The 6-9 forward, who started at center in the Nets’ 117-95 preseason loss, put on about 10 pounds over the summer and now weighs around 230 pounds. “He came in last year skinny, small,” Dorian Finney-Smith told the Daily News. “He realized he had to get a lot stronger. He’s still in the weight room.” Joel Embiid (250 pounds) did not suit up for the 76ers on Wednesday, but defensive matchups against Drummond (280 pounds) and Yabusele (260 pounds) were still formidable challenges for the 20-year-old, who was playing out of position against stronger, more experienced players. Clowney’s last NBA start before Wednesday was on April 14 against this same 76ers team. In the final game of his rookie season, he scored 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting with four rebounds, two assists and a block. There were some ugly moments. Drummond — one of the more prolific rebounders in league history — bullied him under the basket in the game’s opening minutes, scored and celebrated with the “too small” gesture. The youngster was in perfect position during the play, but Drummond had grown man strength on his side. Then, about 19 seconds into the third quarter, head coach Jordi Fernandez called a quick timeout to chew Clowney out after he left Yabusele wide open in the corner, resulting in an uncontested 3-pointer in what was still a tight game. “Sometimes I have lapses where I’m thinking I’m at the 4 or thinking I’m at the 5 when I’m not,” Clowney said. “It’s just getting better with that. Knowing my coverages when I’m at the 4 or my coverage when I’m at the 5 and knowing what to do offensively in both spots. It’s just something I gotta get better at.” Even with the lapses, Clowney’s upside as a floor spacer and interior defender was still on full display. He finished with 11 points (5-of-8 shooting), eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one made 3-pointer in 22 minutes. He entered the night 0-of-5 from deep over his first two preseason appearances. Drummond finished with seven points and a game-high nine rebounds, while Yabusele added nine points, six rebounds and three steals. “It was a good challenge for him going against somebody like Drummond, one of the best rebounders of all time, kind of being able to get his feet wet,” Shake Milton said of Clowney. “I think he held his own… I think Noah stuck in there… Noah’s just going to continue to improve.” After the game, Fernandez shared a harsher evaluation of Clowney’s performance against Philadelphia. “I think he did not fight hard enough,” Fernandez said. “Obviously it’s a great learning experience. … There’s technicalities like how you front somebody, how you push him out. It’s definitely a challenge. But I would’ve liked to see a better fight.” Clowney did not take Fernandez’s comments personally. He knows better than anyone that there are higher levels he can reach at both ends of the court. “The same things he tells [the media] is what he’s gonna tell me,” Clowney said. “You can take it one of two ways. At this level, you’re either gonna get better and learn from it or you’re gonna go the other way.”