76ers seize control
Young guns douse Heat
Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid certainly aren’t acting like playoff first-timers, and JJ Redick provided the veteran leadership that Philadelphia so desperately needed.
The 76ers might very well be the NBA’s team of the future.
And that future might be starting sooner than many envisioned.
Simmons was the first rookie to since Magic Johnson in 1980 to have a playoff triple-double, Redick led Philadelphia with 24 points and the 76ers moved one win from the second round by topping the Heat, 106-102, yesterday in Miami, to take a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.
“I’m shocked that we won this game,” 76ers coach Brett Brown said. “We really didn’t have a right to win the game.”
Here’s why he said that: His team turned the ball over 27 times, shot 7-for31 from 3-point range and trailed by 12 late in the third quarter in an extremely hostile environment against a desperate opponent.
Despite it all, the 76ers were unfazed. Philadelphia turned a 10-point deficit into a seven-point lead with a 19-2 run that ended midway through the fourth quarter, then absorbed the best shot Dwyane Wade could throw at the 76ers in the final minutes before heading home with a chance to close the Heat out in Game 5 on Tuesday.
Wade led all scorers with 25 points off the Heat bench, 12 of them coming in the fourth. But it wasn’t enough.
“They don’t let you off the hook,” Wade said, tipping his cap to the 76ers. “You make one mistake, or you take your foot off the gas for one second, they make you pay.”
Wade doesn’t have a contract for next season. He’s said if he plays, he’ll be back with Miami — though there’s no guarantees.
And that means Saturday might have been his last home game in a Heat uniform. If he knows what the future holds, he didn’t offer any hints.
“I’m focused on the next game, trying to win that one,” Wade said.
Simmons became the first rookie since Magic Johnson in 1980 to post a playoff triple-double — 17 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists. Joel Embiid finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for Philadelphia.
“We took care of business,” Embiid said.
Pelicans 131, Trail Blazers 123 — Anthony Davis scored 33 of his franchise playoff-record 47 points in the second half, and host New Orleans completed a first-round playoff sweep of Portland.
Jrue Holiday capped his 41-point performance with an 18-foot pull-up jumper that gave the Pelicans a six-point lead with 40 seconds left.
Rajon Rondo added 16 assists, and Davis also had 11 rebounds and three blocks for New Orleans, which is moving on to the second round of the playoffs for only the second time since the NBA returned to the city 16 seasons ago.
C.J. McCollum scored 38 for the Trail Blazers.
Timberwolves 121, Rockets 105 — In Minneapolis, Jimmy Butler hit four 3-pointers among his 28 points and KarlAnthony Towns snapped back from a bad start to the series with 18 points and 16 rebounds, leading Minnesota past Houston for its first postseason victory in 14 years.
Jeff Teague scored 23 points and Andrew Wiggins pitched in 20 points with another four 3-pointers, helping the Timberwolves match the fire-away Rockets from behind the arc and cruise down the stretch behind a 50 percent shooting performance.
Derrick Rose added 17 points off the bench for the Wolves, who will try to even the series with a win in Game 4 tomorrow night.