76ers vs. Nets Game 3 score, takeaways: Tyrese Maxey propels Philadelphia to third straight win over Brooklyn

The Nets are now a game away from elimination

With their 102-97 win over the Brooklyn Nets in Game 3 on Thursday night, the Philadelphia 76ers took a commanding 3-0 lead in the first round series between the two teams. The game was a wild one that featured a pair of ejections and plenty of drama.

Down 2-0 and playing in front of their home crowd, the Nets played a desperate brand of basketball that gave the game a hectic, frenetic feel. Tyrese Maxey led the way for Philadelphia with 25 points, three rebounds and three assists, while James Harden added 21 points, five rebounds and four assists before he was tossed late in the third quarter for elbowing Royce O'Neal in the groin. 

Mikal Bridges paced Brooklyn with 26 points, six rebounds and five assists and Spencer Dinwiddie added 20 points and seven assists. Their combined production wasn't enough to get Brooklyn a win, though, and now the Nets are just a single loss away from having their season come to an end. The Sixers haven't swept a postseason series since 1991, so it's safe to say they'll be hungry to try to do so.  

MVP candidate Joel Embiid had a relatively quiet game (14 points, 10 rebounds) and he appeared to be hobbling a bit at times throughout the course of the contest. That's obviously something to keep an eye on moving forward, as the Sixers need their big man to be at full health if they're going to make a deep playoff run. Embiid was also visibly frustrated throughout the game, and it seemed like Brooklyn's obvious plan of trying to get under his skin worked to an extent. 

Game 4 between Philadelphia and Brooklyn is set for Saturday afternoon. Before moving ahead to that game, here's three takeaways from Philly's Game 3 victory. 

1. A couple of questionable calls

I'm not usually one to harp on officiating, but it'd be pretty tough to talk about this game without mentioning it. So, let's start there. After all, the referees arguably botched the two biggest calls of the game. 

Less than two minutes into the contest, Nic Claxton dunked on Embiid, who fell to the floor trying to contest the shot. After the dunk, Claxton flexed on Embiid and tried to step over him, which the Sixers center didn't approve of. Embiid kicked Claxton in the groin area from the floor and a brief scuffle ensued. The play was reviewed for several minutes, and in the meantime, pretty much everyone assumed that Embiid was going to get ejected from the game. 

Here's the NBA's definition of a Flagrant 2: Unnecessary and excessive contact committed by a player against an opponent.

Embiid's actions certainly seemed to meet that criteria, but he was ultimately assessed a Flagrant 1 foul and allowed to stay in the game. Sixers fans weren't complaining, but an argument certainly could have been made that he should have been tossed. Ultimately, I'm a fan of not throwing stars out of playoff games, but they stlll managed to do that.

In the closing minute of the third quarter, Harden was whistled for elbowing O'Neal on a drive. After conferring, the refs decided to toss Harden for some reason. The call didn't make sense. Was it an offensive foul? Sure. A Flagrant 1 even, but that's the extent of it. It wasn't egregious, or on purpose, and definitely didn't warrant an ejection.  

After the game, Harden called the ejection "unacceptable" and it's tough to disagree with him. The refs also tossed Nic Claxton for taunting Embiid on two separate occasions, including after the dunk that led to the kick. 

The NBA's not going to want to use the footage from the game as a paragon of good officiating, that's for sure.  

2. Clutch Maxey

With Harden out, Embiid struggling and the game hanging in the balance heading into the fourth quarter, the Sixers needed someone to step up, and Tyrese Maxey was ready to answer the call. For one stretch late in the quarter, Maxey scored 10 straight points for Philadelphia, and his production down the stretch was enough to keep the Nets at bay. 

Over the last two games, Maxey has scored 58 points and shot 23 of 40 from the floor and 11 of 21 from long range. He has taken advantage of all the attention Brooklyn's defense has paid to Embiid, and scored in a variety of ways from all three levels. He has been a major difference-maker in this series so far, and the Sixers will need him to continue to be. Many have pointed to Maxey as Philadelphia's X-Factor, and understandably so. Embiid and Harden are going to draw a majority of the defensive attention, so when Maxey can go off like he did in Game 3, the Sixers become very difficult to defend.  

3. A game-saving block

As mentioned earlier, Embiid didn't have his best game on Thursday night, far from it. However, he was still able to make a game-saving defensive play when the Sixers needed it most. With the Sixers up two and ten seconds remaining on the clock, Embiid met a driving Dinwiddie and was able to block his shot before it hit the backboard. The Sixers secured the rebound and went on to covert three free throws to ice the game, 

Great players find ways to impact games even when they're struggling, and that's exactly what Embiid did there. With a second round matchup with the Boston Celtics looming, the Sixers can't afford for the series with Brooklyn to drag on any longer than necessary. With that block, Embiid shut the door on Brooklyn's bid to steal Game 3. 

[Apr 20, 2023 at 10:03 pm ET · Michael Kaskey-Blomain]

That was a wild one. 76ers pull out the win, 102-97. Tyrese Maxey stepped up after James Harden was ejected and helped propel Philly to a 3-0 series lead. 

[Apr 20, 2023 at 9:58 pm ET · Michael Kaskey-Blomain]

Embiid with the clutch block on Dinwiddie to potentially save the game for the Sixers. 

[Apr 20, 2023 at 9:57 pm ET · Michael Kaskey-Blomain]

This game has been absolutely wild. It looks like the Sixers are going to come out on top, barring a wild ending. 

[Apr 20, 2023 at 9:53 pm ET · Michael Kaskey-Blomain]

10 straight for Maxey. He took the game over down the stretch. 

[Apr 20, 2023 at 9:51 pm ET · Michael Kaskey-Blomain]

Maxey is up to 22 points. He's the leading scorer for Philly. Bridges has 26 for Brooklyn. 

[Apr 20, 2023 at 9:51 pm ET · Michael Kaskey-Blomain]

Tyrese Maxey has scored seven straight points for the 76ers, and this game is all tied up with 50 seconds left. Buckle up. 

[Apr 20, 2023 at 9:39 pm ET · Michael Kaskey-Blomain]

The Nets are flopping all over the place and the refs are falling for it. This has been a poorly officiated game. 

[Apr 20, 2023 at 9:36 pm ET · Michael Kaskey-Blomain]

Nic Claxton getting two separate technical fouls for taunting Embiid in this game is some next level stuff. 

[Apr 20, 2023 at 9:31 pm ET · Michael Kaskey-Blomain]

This is one of the most frustrated that I've seen Embiid in a game in a while. Brooklyn's plan of getting under his skin has clearly worked. 

[Apr 20, 2023 at 9:28 pm ET · Michael Kaskey-Blomain]

There's no way James Harden should have been ejected for that in a playoff game. Complete bogus call. 

[Apr 20, 2023 at 9:26 pm ET · Michael Kaskey-Blomain]

Here's a look at the play that got Harden ejected from the game: 

[Apr 20, 2023 at 9:22 pm ET · Michael Kaskey-Blomain]

James Harden just got ejected with a Flagrant 2 after an offensive foul. I'm kind of confused, not going to lie. 

[Apr 20, 2023 at 9:16 pm ET · Michael Kaskey-Blomain]

Tie game, 74-74 with 2 minutes left in the third quarter. Nets are outscoring the Sixers by 11 in the period so far.