New York (USA), Apr 22 (EFE).- The Philadelphia 76ers qualified this Saturday on the fast track to the Eastern Conference semifinals (0-4) after beating the Brooklyn Nets at home again by 88- 96 despite not having Joel Embiid in this fourth game.
In a solid collective performance without the injured Embiid, Tobias Harris (25 points and 12 rebounds), De’Anthony Melton (15 points, all of them in the fourth quarter) and Paul Reed (10 points and 15 rebounds, 8 of them offensive) they stepped forward to accompany James Harden (17 points, 8 rebounds and 11 assists) and Tyrese Maxey (16 points and 8 rebounds).
Spencer Dinwiddie (20 points and 6 assists) and Nic Claxton (19 points and 12 rebounds) were the leading scorers for Brooklyn.
The Sixers (third in the East) are the first team to get past the first round in these 2023 playoffs.
The Philadelphians had not gone 4-0 in the playoffs since 1991.
Instead, the Nets (sixth), badly injured after the departures this season of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, went on vacation with a 4-0 down in the first round for the second year in a row (the previous season was against the Boston Celtics).
The Philadelphia team will face the winner of the tie between the Boston Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks (2-1 for now for Jayson Tatum’s men) in the next meeting.
The Nets and the Sixers faced each other this Saturday after the controversy of the ‘hot’ third game on Thursday, in which Embiid was not sent off after kicking Claxton, Harden went to the locker room early for a blow to Royce O’Neale and the aforementioned Claxton left the game with a double technical foul.
This time, and in a much calmer duel, the Sixers accused Embiid’s absence at the beginning due to a sprained right knee, they were losing 11 points in the first quarter and reached the break at a disadvantage (48-40).
However, in the third period they left the Nets speechless with a great 0-14 run and took control of the game before the fourth quarter (63-66 after a 15-26 run in that chapter).
After Harris and Maxey powered the Sixers in the third quarter, in the denouement it was Melton’s turn, explosive with 15 points in the last 12 minutes to topple the Nets and take the Sixers to the next round.
