76ers stuff Nets, close out series in Game 5

[April 24, 2019]  Joel Embiid collected 23 points and 13 rebounds as the Philadelphia 76ers cruised to a wire-to-wire, 122-100 victory over the visiting Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday and closed out their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series in five games.

The 76ers advanced to the conference semifinals for the second straight season. They next will face the second-seeded Toronto Raptors in the first postseason meeting between the teams since the 2001 East semifinals, a series the 76ers won in seven en route to their most recent NBA Finals appearance.

Philadelphia posted its third double-digit win of the series, but unlike the wins in Games 2 and 3, when the 76ers pulled away after halftime, the dominating tone was established early.

Embiid scored 10 points as the 76ers scored the game's first 14 points. The Nets went 0-for-8 on the first 14 possessions before scoring, and the 76ers held a 25-3 lead late in the first and a 32-15 edge after the opening quarter.

Philadelphia led by at least 20 points for the final 34:06 and took a 60-31 lead into halftime. The Sixers took their first 30-plus-point lead when Embiid buried a 3-pointer on their first possession of the second half, and they held a 95-64 advantage entering the fourth.

Embiid made 9 of 18 shots in 20 minutes for Philadelphia, which shot 51 percent from the floor. He also helped the 76ers finish with an overwhelming 68-44 edge in the paint.

The center exited the game with 6:26 remaining in the third with Philadelphia holding a 76-41 lead.

Ben Simmons added 13 points and also helped smother former high school teammate D'Angelo Russell, who was held to eight points on 3-of-16 shooting from the field.

Tobias Harris contributed 12 while JJ Redick and reserve James Ennis III chipped in 11 points apiece. Jonathon Simmons scored 10 for the hosts.

76ers center Joel Embiid (21) shoots over Brooklyn Nets center Jarrett Allen (31) during the first quarter in game five of the first round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The 76ers scored at least 120 points in three of their four wins to advance to the conference semifinals for the first time in consecutive seasons since 1999-2001.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored 21 points and Caris LeVert added 18 points for the Nets, whose first postseason appearance since 2015 ended with them shooting 38.7 percent from the floor Tuesday. The Nets started the regular season with an 8-18 record but went 34-22 the rest of the regular season to get the sixth seed in the East.

With 1:50 left and Philadelphia up 118-91, Brooklyn's Rodions Kurucs took exception to being held by Jonah Bolden under the hoop.

Both players exchanged words and shoved each other before being separated. Officials ejected Kurucs and Brooklyn's Dzanan Musa along with Bolden and Greg Monroe from Philadelphia.

The incident capped a series that featured nine technical fouls, three flagrant fouls and six ejections.

--Field Level Media

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