Harden (seven 3-pointers) paces 76ers
James Harden hit seven 3-pointers and had 23 points and 13 assists, NBA MVP finalist Joel Embiid scored 26 points, and the 76ers pushed back Mikal Bridges and the Nets in a 121-101 Game 1 victory Saturday in Philadelphia.
“He’s confident in how we play now,” 76ers coach Doc Rivers said of Harden. “Last year, even when he was playing, it was, ‘Am I doing the right thing here?’ ”
Tobias Harris added 21 points and the 76ers hit a postseason team-record 21 threes in the opener of this Eastern Conference playoff series. The Sixers are trying to win their first NBA championship since 1983 and advance past the second round for the first time since 2001. Bridges scored 30 points and helped the Nets hang around in the first half. But Brooklyn’s starless roster was no match for Embiid, Harden, and a playoff-tested roster. The Sixers had a sellout crowd of 20,913 in a frenzy from the opening tip, then blew the game open in the fourth.
Philadelphia got it done even without a vintage effort from Embiid., who made only 7 of 15 shots (and all 11 free throws) and was flustered at times against double-teams all over the court.
Knicks hold off Cavaliers
Jalen Brunson shook off foul trouble and scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half, Julius Randle returned from an ankle injury to add 19, and the New York Knicks welcomed Cleveland back to the NBA playoffs by holding off the Cavaliers, 101-97, in Game 1 in Cleveland.
Brunson was limited to nine minutes in the first half, but hit several big shots down the stretch as the Knicks turned back Cleveland’s rally led by Donovan Mitchell, who finished with 38.
Kings outast Warriors
De'Aaron Fox scored 38 points and Malik Monk had 32 as the host Sacramento Kings celebrated their return to the postseason after a record 16-year drought by beating the defending-champion Warriors, 126-123.
The first playoff meeting between the Northern California neighbors lived up to the hype and delighted the raucous crowd that had been waiting for a playoff game since 2006. The inexperienced Kings closed the game strong against a Warriors team that won four titles in the previous eight seasons. It was the Kings’ first playoff win since April 30, 2006, against San Antonio.
After Stephen Curry (30 points) hit a corner 3-pointer to give Golden State a 114-112 lead with about four minutes left, the Kings responded with 7 in a row starting with a 3-pointer from Fox.
The Warriors cut the deficit to 1 on a layup by Curry in the final minute, but Andrew Wiggins missed a corner 3 for the lead in the closing seconds of his first game in more than two months.