The second game of the best-of-seven series between the third-seeded Philadelphia 76ers and sixth-seeded Brooklyn Nets will be played on Monday night.
The latest news on Joel Embiid and James Harden
The Philadelphia 76ers were flawless in their response to the Brooklyn Nets’ constant double-teams on MVP candidate Joel Embiid.
When the big man slipped out of coverage on Saturday, the Sixers hit three-pointers.
They set a franchise playoff record with 21 three-pointers in Game 1 of the first-round Eastern Conference series.
Overall, the Sixers shot 21-for-43 from beyond the arc.
Embiid led the team with 26 points despite shooting 11-for-11 from the free throw line.
If the final score is 20 points, Embiid is content to keep passing out of double teams.
Embiid didn’t exactly dominate like he had in previous regular-season games. Despite this, he was very efficient and posted a solid stat line as Philadelphia easily won the series opener.
During the regular season, Embiid led the league in scoring and should be the Sixers’ go-to offensive player every time they take the court.
Five Sixers players scored in double figures.
James Harden had 23 points, 13 assists, and made 7 of 13 three-point attempts.
Despite needing 21 shots to score 23 points, Harden led the league in assists during the regular season and continued that excellent playmaking performance in the playoffs, racking up a strong double-double.
With Joel Embiid as Philadelphia’s primary scoring weapon for the foreseeable future, Harden should thrive as an elite playmaker while also being a consistent scorer, averaging around 20 points most of the time.
The Nets have now lost five consecutive playoff games to the Sixers since April 15, 2019.
Broklyn will adjust, and the Sixers can’t expect to hit three-pointers every night.
Before returning to Brooklyn for Game 3 on Thursday, the Nets will try to tie the series.
They hung in there for much of the first half, but 20 turnovers cost them.
Mikal Bridges led the Nets with 30 points in the opener. Cameron Johnson scored 18, Spencer Dinwiddie scored 14, and Seth Curry scored ten.
The Nets are capable of scoring. They must make sound decisions if they are to have a good chance of equalizing.
On Saturday, the Nets gave up 21 second-chance points to the Sixers. That number must be reduced if the Nets are to improve their record.
According to ESPN.com’s Nick Friedell, Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn stated that Ben Simmons (back, knee) is out for the season but will not require any surgery this summer.
