Sixers, Mavs head home seeking to rebound
Philadelphia and Dallas head home trying to stay in conference semifinal series against the top seeds, the 76ers unclear when Joel Em- biid might play against Miami and the Mavericks waiting for someone to help Luka Doncic against Phoenix.
Coach Doc Rivers didn’t sound optimistic about Embiid’s availability for Game 3 tonight in Philadelphia after the Sixers fell behind the Heat 2-0 in without the MVP finalist, out with an orbital fracture.
Dallas coach Jason Kidd repeated himself following a second loss to Chris Paul, Devin Booker and the Suns — the 11th consecutive defeat for the Mavericks, regular season included, against the team with the NBA’s best record.
Game 3 of the Western Conference series is tonight in Dallas.
“He had a great game, but no one else showed,” Kidd said after a 129-109 loss in Game 2, sounding about the same as he did two nights earlier following a series-opening 121-114 loss in Phoenix. “We can’t win with just him out there scoring 30 a night.”
James Harden and Tyrese Maxey obviously are missing Embiid. The Philly guards couldn’t find a way to get a split at Miami, the top seed in the East, without the five-time All-Star.
The Sixers weren’t closer than eight points in the fourth quarter of the first two games, and Maxey sees the first quarter as the key to changing that.
“When we go home with the crowd on our side, we’ve got to hit first,” Maxey said after the 119-103 loss in Game 2. “Coach Doc said something in the locker room before the game about, ‘Let’s not be a counterpunching team tonight.’ I think that really hit home. We’ve got to go after them first and put them on their heels.”
Grizzlies' Brooks suspended one game
Memphis Grizzlies star Dillon Brooks has been suspended for one game without pay by the NBA for making “unnecessary and excessive contact” that resulted in a fractured elbow for Golden State’s Gary Payton II in Game 2 of the the Western Conference semifinals.
The league announced the penalty Thursday, so Brooks must sit out Saturday’s Game 3 with the series shifting to Chase Center in San Francisco tied at one game apiece.
Payton was injured with 9:08 left in the first quarter when Brooks clobbered him on the head and the guard fell awkwardly on his left arm. Brooks received a Flagrant 2 foul and was ejected. Warriors coach Steve Kerr called it a “dirty” play.
• The NBA announced the Warriors’ Draymond Green was fined $25,000 for directing an obscene gesture at the Grizzlies fans. He flipped them off with both hands while going to the locker room to be examined for an injury in the first quarter of Golden State’s 106-101 loss Tuesday.
• Memphis center Steven Adams has cleared the health and safety protocols and should be available for Game 3. Coach Taylor Jenkins didn’t say Adams will play Saturday night in San Francisco. Jenkins said they will make a decision after seeing how Adams handles Friday.
Middleton still out
Bucks forward Khris Middleton will miss at least two more games in the Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Celtics as he recovers from a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee.