⏩ More NBA: 76ers close out series over Miami.
Believe it, Philly.
The 76ers are rolling in the postseason — and rappers, politicians, actors and athletes are dancing along for the ride.
Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons thrived again in front of rapper Meek Mill as Embiid and Simmons ushered the nightmares-into-dreams Process of the Philadelphia 76ers into the second round with a 104-91 win over Miami on Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
The 76ers, winners of 10 games just two seasons ago, are in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 2012.
“I kind of promised the city this,” Embiid said.
The Sixers won the series 4-1 and turned the arena into the wildest house party in the city. Embiid had 19 points and 12 rebounds, Simmons had 14 points and 10 boards, and the entire team was energized by Mill’s surprise appearance.
Mill made a dramatic return hours after Pennsylvania’s highest court ordered him freed while he appeals decadeold gun and drug convictions. He was taken from prison in Chester, about 15 miles away, by helicopter to Philadelphia, where he rang the ceremonial bell at the start of Game 5.
Kevin Hart talked trash, wandered onto the edge of the court to rile up fans and palled around with Mill as the young and gettin’ it Sixers proved they just might be the team to beat in the East.
They’ll have plenty of time to rest and recover — Embiid again played in a black mask to protect a face injury — with the other Eastern Conference playoff series expected to stretch into the weekend.
They await the winner of Milwaukee-Boston. The Celtics lead the series 3-2.
Mill was met with a crush of media and celebrity fans as he tried to take his courtside seat. Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and retired boxer Bernard Hopkins sat near Hart and Mill, and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf joined them in the second half.
What they saw was just the latest beatdown from a franchise whose maligned rebuild has morphed into the one of the trendiest terms in sports.
The Sixers outscored the Heat by 14 in the third quarter after the game was tied at halftime. The Sixers had fans belting, “Trust the Process!”
This might have been the last game for Dwyane Wade, long the face of the Heat franchise. He congratulated Embiid after the game and said he “couldn’t have asked for a better ending” this season than to return to the Heat. Wade is considering retirement, but he didn’t announce a decision on his future.
Celtics 92, Bucks 87: Al Horford has been Boston’s quiet leader this postseason, and Marcus Smart might be the kindling that was missing in back-to-back losses in Milwaukee.
The two were reunited for Game 5 in Boston, and together they helped put the Celtics on the verge of closing out their first-round Eastern Conference series.
Horford had 22 points and 14 rebounds, Smart made an impact in his first game since mid-March and the Celtics took a 3-2 lead.
Smart came off the bench and had nine points, five rebounds, four assists and three blocks in his first action since right thumb surgery. He played 25 minutes wearing a protective splint and in the game’s final minute, he had a key assist to Horford from the bottom of a scrum beneath three Milwaukee players.
“I just tried to make sure I got him the ball and it was going to take everything I had,” Smart said. “They weren’t taking it from me.”
Terry Rozier added 16 points and five assists for Boston. The home team has won all five games in the series. Game 6 is Thursday in Milwaukee.
Khris Middleton led the Bucks with 23 points, Jabari Parker added 17 points and eight rebounds, and Giannis Antetokounmpo had a serieslow 16 points with 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Cavs’ Hill questionable: Cleveland guard George Hill is questionable for Wednesday’s Game 5 against the Pacers because of back spasms. Hill has been dealing with back problems since the series opener, when he was flattened by an illegal screen by Indiana forward Trevor Booker.