Simmons, Embiid usher 76ers past Nets and into 2nd round
PHILADELPHIA (AP) Joel Embiid showed no mercy. He buried a 3-pointer that gave the 76ers a 24-point lead and waved his arms like a boss, exhorting an already jacked crowd to get louder.
Philly obeyed its most popular player and went wild - and the All-Star center believes the good times have only just started.
''We think we can win it all,'' Embiid said.
Ben Simmons thumped his chest after a big dunk , Embiid pointed toward an overmatched defender on a slam of his own, and Philadelphia flexed its offensive muscle from the opening tip to beat the Brooklyn Nets 120-100 on Tuesday night and close out their Eastern Conference playoff series in five games.
Up next, a second round series against the Toronto Raptors, who dropped their playoff opener before winning four straight against Orlando - the same thing the Sixers did to Brooklyn.
''We still have more to do. A lot more to do,'' coach Brett Brown said.
Any late arrivals missed the defining moments of the game from a jovial Sixers team that enjoyed toying with the sickly Nets.
The Sixers stunned the Nets with a 14-0 run in front of the loudest and rowdiest packed house of the season.
Embiid again shook off a bad left knee and had six points and five rebounds in the first two minutes to chants of ''MVP!'' The Nets later trailed 20-2, and Simmons put an exclamation point on the stunning first quarter when he drove the paint and used a right-handed jam to make it 32-12 - with a thump of his chest for emphasis.
''They did whatever they wanted before we could even get on the board,'' Nets All-Star guard D'Angelo Russell said.
Brooklyn's Jared Dudley was soundly booed during pregame introductions and each time he touched the ball in the first. Dudley had stirred trouble when he said Simmons was ''average'' in the half-court. Dudley bumped Embiid in Game 4, triggering a skirmish with Jimmy Butler that spilled into the stands. Dudley heard ''Dudley sucks!'' chants from opening tipoff and got a view of this rout from the bench in the second half. He flashed a few smiles in the waning moments, his time as a playoff name over.
The teams tangled again in the final two minutes, and the deep reserves had to be separated. Sixers mascot Franklin ran out wearing oversized gold boxing gloves to bring a dose of levity to the ruckus.
Philadelphia's Jonah Bolden and Greg Monroe, and Brooklyn's Dzanan Musa and Radians Kurucs were ejected.
''Our team was physical the whole time,'' Simmons said. ''I think we need to take that up to Toronto.''
Embiid got the last laugh in the second quarter with a baseline dunk over Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and pointed at the hapless defender. Embiid was hit with a technical but by then, who cared? Embiid buried a 3 from the top of the arc that made it 41-17 and about blew the roof off the arena. Sixers general manager Elton Brand, who sits in the first row of the press seating, had his eyes locked on the scoreboard for each replay of the big man's 3.
Embiid had 23 points and 13 rebounds, Simmons had 13 points and no starter played more than 27 minutes in a game that could have been called off after the first quarter.
Hollis-Jefferson scored 21 points for the Nets, who head into the offseason after their first playoff series since 2015.
''We never made a push back,'' Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said. ''I'm surprised we didn't come out with more grit, more fight.''
Brand is as much to credit for the Sixers' success as anyone, using his rookie season as GM to orchestrate trades for Butler and Tobias Harris that kept Philly humming along in a 51-win season. But even before the trades, the Sixers were expected to make it this far in the playoffs. They did last season and were knocked out by Boston in the East semis in five games. The midseason trades for Harris and Butler were expected to push the Sixers to at least the conference final. Brown has said the goal is to play in the NBA Finals.
"They're going for big things. They can compete for a championship, quite honestly,'' Atkinson said.
TIP-INS
Nets: Joe Harris, the NBA's top 3-point shooter, hit his first one since Game 1 with the score well out of hand. Harris was just 3 of 16 through the first four games. ... Nets general manager Sean Marks was suspended for the game for entering the referees' locker room after Brooklyn's loss to Philadelphia in Game 4. ... Simmons smothered Russell and the Nets star was held to eight points on 3 of 16 shooting.
76ers: Their 29-point halftime lead was the largest in playoff franchise history. The 31 points allowed matched the lowest in the shot-clock era.
UP NEXT
The Raptors went 3-1 vs. the Sixers this season.
''You can credit it or you can discredit it,'' Brown said. ''I'm discrediting it. We have a new group. We have a new opportunity.''
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
11:47 | Lost ball turnover on Ben Simmons, stolen by Jared Dudley | |||
11:28 | D'Angelo Russell missed jump shot | |||
11:25 | Defensive rebound by Joel Embiid | |||
11:14 | Ben Simmons missed driving layup | |||
11:09 | Offensive rebound by Joel Embiid | |||
11:09 | +2 | Joel Embiid made dunk | 0-2 | |
10:55 | Jarrett Allen missed floating jump shot | |||
10:42 | +2 | Joel Embiid made jump shot, assist by Tobias Harris | 0-4 | |
10:23 | Defensive rebound by Joel Embiid | |||
10:19 | JJ Redick missed 3-pt. jump shot | |||
10:17 | Defensive rebound by Jarrett Allen | |||
10:09 | Caris LeVert missed floating jump shot | |||
10:06 | Defensive rebound by Joel Embiid | |||
10:01 | Joel Embiid missed jump shot | |||
9:49 | Defensive rebound by Ben Simmons | |||
9:30 | +2 | Joel Embiid made driving dunk, assist by Ben Simmons | 0-6 | |
9:17 | Personal foul on JJ Redick | |||
9:13 | +2 | Jimmy Butler made dunk | 0-8 | |
8:58 | Bad pass turnover on Jared Dudley, stolen by Tobias Harris | |||
8:53 | Jimmy Butler missed 3-pt. jump shot | |||
8:49 | Defensive rebound by Joe Harris | |||
8:44 | Jared Dudley missed 3-pt. jump shot | |||
8:41 | Offensive rebound by Jarrett Allen | |||
8:27 | 24-second shot clock violation turnover | |||
8:13 | +2 | Jimmy Butler made turnaround jump shot | 0-10 | |
8:00 | Defensive rebound by Ben Simmons | |||
7:50 | Defensive rebound by Jarrett Allen | |||
7:34 | Backcourt turnover on Caris LeVert | |||
7:18 | +2 | Joel Embiid made fade-away jump shot | 0-12 | |
6:55 | Defensive rebound by Tobias Harris | |||
6:41 | Shooting foul on Jared Dudley | |||
6:41 | +1 | Joel Embiid made 1st of 2 free throws | 0-13 | |
6:41 | +1 | Joel Embiid made 2nd of 2 free throws | 0-14 | |
6:34 | Out of bounds turnover on Joe Harris | |||
6:17 | Out of bounds turnover on Mike Scott | |||
6:08 | +2 | Jarrett Allen made alley-oop shot, assist by Spencer Dinwiddie | 2-14 | |
5:54 | +2 | Tobias Harris made jump shot, assist by Boban Marjanovic | 2-16 | |
5:33 | Bad pass turnover on Mike Scott, stolen by Spencer Dinwiddie | |||
5:19 | Jimmy Butler missed finger-roll layup | |||
5:19 | Defensive rebound by Treveon Graham | |||
5:19 | Personal foul on Boban Marjanovic | |||
5:04 | Spencer Dinwiddie missed finger-roll layup | |||
5:04 | PHI team rebound | |||
4:39 | D'Angelo Russell missed floating jump shot | |||
4:36 | Defensive rebound by Tobias Harris | |||
4:27 | +2 | Boban Marjanovic made hook shot, assist by Tobias Harris | 2-20 | |
4:08 | Spencer Dinwiddie missed 3-pt. jump shot | |||
4:04 | Defensive rebound by Boban Marjanovic | |||
3:51 | Defensive rebound by Joe Harris | |||
3:44 | Spencer Dinwiddie missed floating jump shot | |||
3:42 | Defensive rebound by Boban Marjanovic | |||
3:35 | Tobias Harris missed fade-away jump shot | |||
3:33 | Offensive rebound by Jimmy Butler | |||
3:32 | +3 | Tobias Harris made 3-pt. jump shot, assist by Jimmy Butler | 2-23 | |
3:19 | Shooting foul on James Ennis III | |||
3:19 | Spencer Dinwiddie missed 1st of 2 free throws | |||
3:19 | +1 | Spencer Dinwiddie made 2nd of 2 free throws | 3-23 | |
3:04 | +2 | Ben Simmons made hook shot, assist by James Ennis III | 3-25 | |
2:53 | +3 | Caris LeVert made 3-pt. jump shot | 6-25 | |
2:35 | +2 | Ben Simmons made hook shot, assist by James Ennis III | 6-27 | |
2:35 | Shooting foul on Rondae Hollis-Jefferson | |||
2:35 | +1 | Ben Simmons made free throw | 6-28 | |
2:19 | Rondae Hollis-Jefferson missed layup | |||
2:17 | Defensive rebound by Ben Simmons | |||
2:11 | +2 | James Ennis III made floating jump shot, assist by Ben Simmons | 6-30 | |
2:01 | +2 | Rondae Hollis-Jefferson made jump shot, assist by Spencer Dinwiddie | 8-30 | |
1:46 | Defensive rebound by DeMarre Carroll | |||
1:40 | Shooting foul on James Ennis III | |||
1:40 | +1 | Caris LeVert made 1st of 2 free throws | 9-30 | |
1:40 | Caris LeVert missed 2nd of 2 free throws | |||
1:38 | Defensive rebound by Joel Embiid | |||
1:28 | Personal foul on Rondae Hollis-Jefferson | |||
1:15 | James Ennis III missed 3-pt. jump shot | |||
1:12 | Defensive rebound by Caris LeVert | |||
1:03 | Caris LeVert missed driving layup | |||
0:59 | Offensive rebound by Caris LeVert | |||
0:59 | +2 | Caris LeVert made dunk | 11-30 | |
0:47 | James Ennis III missed driving layup, blocked by Treveon Graham | |||
0:44 | +2 | Spencer Dinwiddie made dunk, assist by Treveon Graham | 13-30 | |
0:32 | Offensive foul on Joel Embiid | |||
0:32 | Turnover on Joel Embiid | |||
0:08 | +2 | Ben Simmons made driving dunk | 13-32 | |
0:00 | +2 | Caris LeVert made floating jump shot | 15-32 | |
0:00 | End of period |
Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
11:49 | +2 | Caris LeVert made floating jump shot, assist by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson | 17-32 | |
11:22 | +2 | Jimmy Butler made turnaround jump shot | 17-34 | |
11:01 | Bad pass turnover on Caris LeVert, stolen by Jimmy Butler | |||
10:48 | +2 | Joel Embiid made driving dunk, assist by JJ Redick | 17-36 | |
10:49 | Unsportsmanlike technical foul | |||
10:49 | D'Angelo Russell missed free throw | |||
10:49 | BKN team rebound | |||
10:27 | Spencer Dinwiddie missed floating jump shot | |||
10:26 | PHI team rebound | |||
9:47 | Lost ball turnover on Spencer Dinwiddie, stolen by Jimmy Butler | |||
9:43 | +3 | Joel Embiid made 3-pt. jump shot, assist by JJ Redick | 17-41 | |
9:21 | DeMarre Carroll missed floating jump shot | |||
9:19 | Defensive rebound by Tobias Harris | |||
9:15 | Out of bounds turnover on Ben Simmons | |||
9:05 | Jared Dudley missed jump shot | |||
9:01 | Defensive rebound by Tobias Harris | |||
8:39 | 24-second shot clock violation turnover | |||
8:34 | Shooting foul on James Ennis III | |||
8:34 | +1 | Caris LeVert made 2nd of 2 free throws | 19-41 | |
8:11 | +2 | Joe Harris made jump shot, assist by D'Angelo Russell | 21-43 | |
7:56 | Jimmy Butler missed floating jump shot | |||
7:55 | Offensive rebound by Boban Marjanovic | |||
7:53 | +2 | Mike Scott made layup, assist by Boban Marjanovic | 21-45 | |
7:36 | DeMarre Carroll missed 3-pt. jump shot | |||
7:33 | Defensive rebound by Jimmy Butler | |||
7:24 | +2 | Boban Marjanovic made jump shot, assist by Jimmy Butler | 21-47 | |
7:12 | +2 | Caris LeVert made jump shot, assist by Jared Dudley | 23-47 | |
7:01 | Jimmy Butler missed layup, blocked by Jarrett Allen | |||
6:55 | Defensive rebound by Joe Harris | |||
6:48 | +2 | D'Angelo Russell made jump shot | 25-47 | |
6:48 | Shooting foul on T.J. McConnell | |||
6:48 | +1 | D'Angelo Russell made free throw | 26-47 | |
6:35 | +2 | T.J. McConnell made jump shot | 26-49 | |
6:20 | Jarrett Allen missed hook shot | |||
6:18 | Defensive rebound by Mike Scott | |||
6:15 | Offensive foul on Boban Marjanovic | |||
6:15 | Turnover on Boban Marjanovic | |||
5:54 | Defensive rebound by Jimmy Butler | |||
5:50 | Bad pass turnover on Jimmy Butler, stolen by D'Angelo Russell | |||
5:45 | +3 | Joe Harris made 3-pt. jump shot, assist by D'Angelo Russell | 29-49 | |
5:04 | D'Angelo Russell missed 3-pt. jump shot | |||
5:01 | Defensive rebound by Boban Marjanovic | |||
4:49 | Traveling violation turnover on Boban Marjanovic | |||
4:34 | Defensive rebound by Boban Marjanovic | |||
4:20 | BKN team rebound | |||
4:06 | D'Angelo Russell missed jump shot | |||
4:03 | Defensive rebound by Mike Scott | |||
3:58 | Mike Scott missed 3-pt. jump shot | |||
3:53 | Offensive rebound by T.J. McConnell | |||
3:50 | +3 | JJ Redick made 3-pt. jump shot, assist by T.J. McConnell | 29-52 | |
3:38 | D'Angelo Russell missed fade-away jump shot | |||
3:35 | Defensive rebound by Boban Marjanovic | |||
3:26 | +2 | JJ Redick made layup, assist by Ben Simmons | 29-54 | |
3:26 | Full timeout called | |||
3:14 | Backcourt turnover on Jarrett Allen | |||
3:05 | JJ Redick missed 3-pt. jump shot | |||
3:02 | Defensive rebound by Jarrett Allen | |||
2:51 | DeMarre Carroll missed layup | |||
2:49 | Defensive rebound by Mike Scott | |||
2:43 | T.J. McConnell missed jump shot | |||
2:40 | Defensive rebound by Jarrett Allen | |||
2:34 | +2 | Joe Harris made reverse layup, assist by Caris LeVert | 31-54 | |
2:17 | Joel Embiid missed jump shot | |||
2:10 | Offensive rebound by Jimmy Butler | |||
2:09 | Out of bounds turnover on Joel Embiid | |||
1:48 | +3 | Jimmy Butler made 3-pt. jump shot, assist by Joel Embiid | 31-57 | |
1:33 | DeMarre Carroll missed floating jump shot | |||
1:25 | Caris LeVert missed floating jump shot | |||
1:22 | Defensive rebound by Jimmy Butler | |||
1:18 | Tobias Harris missed 3-pt. jump shot | |||
1:14 | Defensive rebound by Jarrett Allen | |||
1:00 | Joe Harris missed 3-pt. jump shot | |||
0:57 | Defensive rebound by Tobias Harris | |||
0:51 | +3 | JJ Redick made 3-pt. jump shot, assist by Tobias Harris | 31-60 | |
0:38 | Defensive rebound by Joel Embiid | |||
0:27 | Defensive rebound by DeMarre Carroll | |||
0:17 | Spencer Dinwiddie missed floating jump shot | |||
0:15 | Defensive rebound by Joel Embiid | |||
0:00 | Ben Simmons missed fade-away jump shot | |||
0:00 | PHI team rebound | |||
0:00 | End of period |