Joel Embiid, 76ers Roar Back to Beat Caris LeVert, Nets; Take 3-1 Series Lead
The Philadelphia 76ers are one win from advancing to the second round of the NBA playoffs following a thrilling 112-108 victory Saturday over the Brooklyn Nets in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
This series hasn't gone how the Sixers would have scripted it, but that hasn't prevented them from hitting their stride after an ugly Game 1 performance. They averaged 138 points in their first two wins against the Nets.
Joel Embiid's return to the starting lineup paid huge dividends. He scored a game-high 31 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and dished out seven assists. Tobias Harris finished with 24 points, six assists and eight rebounds. Ben Simmons continued his strong play with 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Caris LeVert (25 points, six assists), D'Angelo Russell (21 points, seven rebounds) and Jarrett Allen (21 points) led the way for Brooklyn in a losing effort.
Boiling Tension Proves Sixers-Nets Is NBA's Next Big Rivalry
If it wasn't clear before, Saturday confirmed the 76ers and Nets will have one of the NBA's most intense rivalries.
Tensions were already high between the teams thanks to Jared Dudley's comments about Simmons after Philadelphia's 145-123 Game 2 win, via CBS Sports' James Herbert:
"I think that Ben Simmons is a great player in transition. Once you slow him up in the half court, I think he's average when it comes to that. He's a player that, when he picks up speed, he's a load, so you're going to have two guys with him. So for him it's just take away his easy baskets. If you're in a bad way, foul him. Make him make free throws. If he's 4-for-4, keep fouling him. The odds tell you what his percentages are on free throws."
Simmons didn't seem like he had any time for Dudley's quote:
Fast-forward to Game 4, and Dudley played the role of antagonist to perfection by getting himself and Jimmy Butler ejected from the contest in the third quarter by igniting a skirmish:
Even though the rivalry has been instigated by Dudley, a journeyman who will become a free agent after this season, the Nets are poised to be a serious rival to Philadelphia because of their talent nucleus.
LeVert, Russell and Spencer Dinwiddie have given the Nets an excellent trio to build around. The Sixers figure to be among the top teams in the Eastern Conference with Embiid and Simmons, though they will have to make decisions about re-signing Harris, Butler and Redick this summer.
The Atlantic Division is already stacked with the 76ers, Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics each winning at least 49 games during the regular season. Brooklyn has the potential to take another jump in 2019-20, coming off a 42-win campaign.
Through four games of this series, the raw emotion that has been on display from both teams suggests the Nets and Sixers will be a marquee matchup that demands everyone pay close attention to.
Joel Embiid Proves He Can Carry 76ers as Far as He Wants
Any concern about Embiid's knee got put to rest when the All-Star center played the role of hero Saturday.
He led the Sixers in scoring, but Embiid's biggest moment came when he found Scott in the corner for the go-ahead three with 18.6 seconds remaining:
Even though Philadelphia's trade with the Los Angeles Clippers was built around Harris, there was one Nets player who singled out the acquisition of Scott in that deal:
There has been some silence around the knee issue that has plagued Embiid since the All-Star break and kept him out for Game 3. He offered a vague explanation of it to reportersafter practice Friday:
"It's just about working on your strength and just getting in the practice facility or whatever, basically. Just trying to do whatever you can do to stay strong. At the end of the day, what cures it is just loading. You gotta load in the right way. Can't do too much and then can't also sit out and do nothing. It's hard to manage, but gotta do it. Gotta push through the pain and see where it goes."
Whatever the issue is with Embiid's knee, he didn't seem to have a problem pushing through it Saturday. He was the star Philadelphia needed him to be, especially with Butler out for most of the second half following his ejection.
It's been well-documented how the 76ers have pushed all their chips to the center of the table. They will go as far as their starting five can take them because the in-season acquisitions of Harris and Butler sapped their roster depth.
General manager Elton Brand made those bold moves to show everyone that Philadelphia's championship window was wide open.
Few things about this season have come easy for the Sixers. They had to develop chemistry on the fly because their roster changed so much.
Embiid is the one constant Philadelphia has to depend on. He proved in Game 4 that he can put a team on his back, even with one bad leg.
What's Next?
The 76ers will host the Nets at the Wells Fargo Center in Game 5 at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday.
