Embiid lifts Sixers over Nets in battle of the East

PHILADELPHIA • Joel Embiid finished with 39 points as the Philadelphia 76ers won the fight for first place in the Eastern Conference after beating the Brooklyn Nets 123-117 on Wednesday.

Philadelphia, who are seeking their first National Basketball Association (NBA) championship since 1983, are looking to earn the top seed and home-court advantage in the post-season.

The home win gives them the upper hand, at least for now, over the second-placed Nets, with the Sixers improving to 38-17, just one game ahead of Brooklyn (37-18).

The depleted Nets played without All-Stars James Harden, who is recovering from a strained hamstring, and Kevin Durant, who sits out when the team have games on back-to-back nights.

Embiid ran riot in their absence, shooting 13 of 29 from the floor and pulling down 13 rebounds, while Tobias Harris had 26 points and Ben Simmons finished with 17 points to help the Sixers secure their third straight victory.

Kyrie Irving led the Nets with 37 points and nine assists while Landry Shamet had 17 points and Jeff Green added another 15 points.

Despite missing two of their "Big Three", the visitors did not go down without a fight as other big contributions - Bruce Brown and DeAndre Jordan had 14 and 12 points respectively - helped them cut a 22-point lead to as close as three in the fourth quarter.

All-Star Embiid admitted the plan for him to be rested had to be scratched after the Nets' rally.

"The last three games I sat out the fourth and I thought it would be the same," said the big man, who played over 33 minutes.

"We made a bunch of mistakes and turned the ball over. It can happen."

Elsewhere, Luka Doncic delivered a game-winner, sinking an off-balance, buzzer-beating three-pointer to lift the Dallas Mavericks to a 114-113 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

The guard scored 25 of his 29 points in the second half to help his team end a two-game losing run.

"I was kind of falling down. It's kind of lucky, but we'll take it," said Doncic, who scored the Mavericks' final six points of the contest.

"The last play was amazing. In those situations, you pull off a miracle like that once in a blue moon," said Dallas coach Rick Carlisle.

Also, Khris Middleton scored a game-high 27 points as the Milwaukee Bucks won their second straight game without the injured Giannis Antetokounmpo in a 130-105 rout of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 16, 2021, with the headline Embiid lifts Sixers over Nets in battle of the East. Subscribe