76ers take control of series
MIAMI — 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 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 Miami Heat 106-102 on Saturday 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 for 31 from 3-point range and trailed by 12 late in the third quarter in an extremely hostile environment against a desperate opponent.
Dwyane Wade led all scorers with 25 points off the Heat bench, 12 of them coming in the fourth.
PELICANS 131, TRAIL BLAZERS 123: Anthony Davis scored 33 of his 76ers guard Ben Simmons shoots in the first quarter as Heat forward James Johnson defends in Game 4 of a first-round playoff series Saturday in Miami. franchise playoff-record 47 points in the second half, and the New Orleans Pelicans completed a first-round playoff sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers.
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: Jimmy Butler hit four 3-pointers among his 28 points and Karl-Anthony Towns snapped back from a bad start to the series with 18 points and 16 rebounds, leading the Minnesota Timberwolves past the Houston Rockets for their 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 on Monday. HEAT’S WINSLOW FINED $15,000 FOR STEPPING ON EMBIID’S MASK: Miami’s Justise Winslow has been fined $15,000 by the NBA for attempting to damage Philadelphia center Joel Embiid’s facemask during Game 3 of their playoff series.
Winslow intentionally stepped on Embiid’s mask after it had fallen onto the court with 7:51 remaining in the second quarter of the 76ers’ 128-108 victory on Thursday night.
The NBA cited Winslow for unsportsmanlike conduct in announcing the penalty Friday.