Sunday, April 14, 2019
Philadelphia — D’Angelo Russell rang up a scoring burst that helped Brooklyn dial up an upset and filled Philly’s home court with a barrage of boos.
All-Star Ben Simmons wants to put the fans on mute — and the Sixers could stand to silence their cellphones.
“If you’re going to boo, then stay on that side,” Simmons said.
Russell flashed some postseason magic, playing like the All-Star leader Brooklyn needed with 26 points, and Caris LeVert scored 23 to lead the Nets to an impressive 111-102 win Saturday over the 76ers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
“We’ve got the right pieces to keep it going,” Russell said.
Check out this update on a mobile device: A Nets team that got hot late just to make the playoffs has the upper hand on the road over a 51-win team stocked with stars.
“I think earlier in the season, especially when we were struggling, we’d lose games like that,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. Not in April. Russell, LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie gave the Sixers fits off the dribble, buried open looks from 3-point range (11 of 26) and smoked a Sixers team that resembled one straight out of the early Process era.
Russell got the first win of his playoff career and the last laugh, scoring 14 points in the third quarter and leading the Nets to one of the biggest wins since they moved to Brooklyn. It came days after Los Angeles Lakers executive Magic Johnson, who dumped Russell on the Nets, resigned. Russell, who scored 19 points in the second half, can safely scroll through his phone to see his Nets are trending.
The 76ers might want to keep their phones on lock.
Sixers benchwarmer Amir Johnson was caught by TV cameras sitting on the bench and scrolling through his phone late in the fourth quarter and the Sixers down big. Johnson showed All-Star Joel Embiid whatever message was on the phone and then slid it into his warmup pants pocket.
Embiid said Johnson received an update on a sick daughter. Sixers coach Brett Brown called Johnson’s actions “completely unacceptable.”
So was Philadelphia’s performance.
Jimmy Butler scored 36 points and saved the Sixers, widely considered a favorite to at least reach the East semis, from losing by 25.