Tyrese Maxey scored 33 points, Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris each had 20, and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Brooklyn Nets 96-84 on Monday to take a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference playoff series.
Embiid, the two-time NBA scoring champion, was quiet offensively, going 6-for-11 from the floor, but he did almost everything else. The MVP finalist had 19 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks.
Harris had 12 rebounds. James Harden scored just eight points on 3-of-13 shooting for the Sixers after a sensational effort in Game 1.
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Game 3 is Thursday in New York.
Cam Johnson led the Nets with 28 points. Johnson sent Embiid stumbling on a one-handed dunk down the right side that posterized the 7-footer. Johnson looked at Embiid as the Nets forward fell back on defense in the first half.
That was the ultimate GIF-worthy highlight of Brooklyn.
Maybe the 76ers just needed to hear more from their coach as they chase their first NBA championship since 1983.
After Brooklyn scored the first bucket of the second half, Doc Rivers called a quick timeout.
“Come on guys! Let’s go!” Rivers implored in the group. “Listen, it’s up to you what you want to do.”
How about finally deciding the game.
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Maxey, who kept the Sixers alive with 15 points in the first half, was charged for the rim on a fast break, but Harris followed through for the basket and the 76ers ultimately tied the game at 55-5. Maxey didn’t miss the next possession: a corner three-pointer that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Then PJ Tucker missed a 3-pointer, grabbed his own rebound, sent in Harden, and Beard buried his first 3 of the game. Harris came back and hit a 3-pointer that sent him jumping and waving his arms out of bounds and headed for a timeout.
Embiid raised his fist in the air and urged the crowd to make more noise with a 64-56 lead.
The Sixers needed the spark after going from Game 1 dominance to Game 2 disaster in the first half.
No Sixer accounted for that drop more than Harden. His seven 3-pointers stabilized the Sixers in the opener, but the aging veteran, who battled a sore left Achilles tendon over the regular-season stretch, was overwhelmed in Game 2. He missed 6 of 7 shots in the first half and the four triples. He tries. Add two fouls and five turnovers and it was a wonder the Sixers only trailed 49-44 at halftime.
That had to distress the Nets. Johnson scored 22 points in the half but, just like Game 1, the Nets were crushed on the backboards and in the paint. Embiid scored eight points but had 15 boards, 13 defensive.
Embiid seemed to make up for some offensive frustration with a late-game two-handed jam that brought the crowd to its feet.
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TIPS
Nets: They have lost six straight playoff games to the 76ers. … Mikal Bridges scored 21 points after having 30 in Game 1.
76ers: Embiid’s 15 rebounds were the most by any 76ers player in a playoff half in the past 25 seasons. … Maxey made 13 of 25 shots.
UNTIL NEXT TIME
The Sixers went 2-0 in Brooklyn this season and 4-0 against the Nets overall.