D’Angelo Russell flashed some postseason magic, enjoying just like the All-Star chief the Nets wanted with 26 factors, and Caris LeVert scored 23 to steer the Nets to a 111-102 win on Saturday in opposition to the Philadelphia 76ers in Recreation 1 of their Japanese Convention first-round playoff collection.
Jimmy Butler scored 36 factors and saved the Sixers, favored by many to no less than attain the East semifinals, from dropping by 25. Joel Embiid slogged his method via 24 forgettable minutes on a bum left knee. Ben Simmons got here up small in opposition to Russell, his highschool teammate, who scored 19 second-half factors.
Russell, LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie gave the Sixers matches off the dribble, buried open seems from 3-point vary, and a workforce that bought sizzling late simply to make the playoffs out of the blue has the higher hand on the highway over a 51-win workforce stocked with stars.
With Philadelphia behind by 16 within the fourth quarter, Amir Johnson appeared to indicate Embiid a textual content after they sat on the bench. Johnson then slid the telephone into his warm-up pants pocket.
“I simply appeared down as a result of he mentioned his daughter was extraordinarily sick and he was checking on her,” Embiid mentioned.
Sixers Coach Brett Brown referred to as Johnson’s actions “utterly unacceptable.”
Brown mentioned he would take care of Johnson, who was inactive for the sport, however declined to deal with any particular self-discipline.
It was a becoming episode in a recreation that the Sixers appeared to mail in.
Poised for a postseason breakthrough, Russell flourished and hit a string of jumpers within the third that by no means let the Sixers severely chip away on the lead. LeVert’s third 3-pointer within the fourth made it a 16-point recreation, and there was no wanting again for one of many largest wins because the Nets moved to Brooklyn. Russell raised his arms in celebration as he headed down the tunnel into the locker room.
Embiid was launched to a roaring standing ovation and heard chants of “M.V.P.” and “Belief the Course of” when he opened the sport with two free throws. However he didn’t appear able to play at an All-Star degree for any substantial size of time. He was hit with a technical when he shoved Jared Dudley to the bottom, and he went again to the locker room for extra therapy with about three minutes left within the first half. He scored 22 factors, 12 on free throws, and had 15 rebounds.
Butler stored the Sixers within the recreation with a sensational first half that confirmed why the franchise surrendered a lot to land the four-time All-Star. He buried a 3-pointer on the horn to ship Philadelphia into the break behind by 62-54. He was 6 of 10 and scored 23 factors whereas the remainder of the Sixers shot 10 of 38 for 31 factors. Simmons, a first-time All-Star, missed 4 of 5 photographs and scored solely 2 factors.
Embiid has at all times fancied himself a 3-point shooter, and with tendinitis in his left knee that value him a lot of the ultimate month of the season rendering him motionless he determined to camp out a bit extra past the arc. He missed all 5 of his 3-point makes an attempt within the half — and the Sixers missed their first 11.
With or with out Embiid, the Nets had been all however unstoppable for a lot of the half. Dinwiddie and DeMarre Carroll made consecutive 3-pointers throughout a 12-Zero run. LeVert hit two straight 3s for a 14-point lead, and the Sixers — who had been the darlings of town throughout their rise from the depths of the standings — had been soundly booed off the court docket by 20,000 followers at Wells Fargo Heart.