Before Philadelphia 76ers’ home games this season, guards Ben Simmons and Seth Curry typically play “Call of Duty: Warzone” as a way to unwind and have some fun. On Wednesday, in the hours prior to Game 5 of the Eastern Conference first round series against the Washington Wizards, the two did so again.
As they competed in the video game, they knew how important the night’s game was, too, as the 76ers would be playing without Joel Embiid, their star center who sustained a knee injury in Monday’s game. Simmons made sure to motivate Curry.
“He told me I need 30 from you and I’m going to get a triple double so we can close it out,” Curry said.
Simmons’ prediction proved correct, as Curry scored a playoff career-high and team-high 30 points and Simmons had a triple double with 19 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. And the No. 1 seed 76ers clinched the series with a 129-112 victory in front of the first sell-out crowd all season at the Wells Fargo Center as Philadelphia officials lifted restrictions on crowd sizes on Wednesday.
Simmons and Curry weren’t the only reasons the 76ers won and avenged a 122-114 loss in Washington two days earlier in which Embiid left late in the first quarter. Tobias Harris had 28 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists, while three reserves scored in double figures: rookie guard Tyrese Maxey (13 points), 17-year veteran forward Dwight Howard (12 points) and fourth year guard Furkan Korkmaz (10 points).
The 76ers led by just 65-63 at halftime, but they dominated for much of the second half, as they held the Wizards to just two points in transition during the final two quarters and led by as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter.
“It was what you would call an all hands in, team win, for sure,” 76ers coach Doc Rivers said.
The 76ers now advance to the conference semifinals, where they will face the No. 5 seed Atlanta Hawks, which knocked off the New York Knicks on Wednesday night. Game 1 is Sunday in Philadelphia.
This is only the third time the teams have met in the postseason. The 76ers won both series, defeating the Hawks four games to one in the conference semifinals in 1980 and two games to none in the first round in 1982.
During this regular season, the 76ers won two of their three games against the Hawks. They lost 112-94 in Atlanta on Jan. 11 but won both games in Philadelphia: 127-83 on April 28 and 126-104 on April 30.
For now, it is unclear if Embiid will be returning on Sunday or at all in the postseason. The 76ers noted that several orthopedic specialists assessed Embiid’s MRI exam and ruled that he had a small lateral meniscus tear in his right knee. He is undergoing physical therapy and other treatments and is listed as day-to-day.
The 76ers have gone 11-11 in the games Embiid has missed this season, including a 7-3 stretch from March 14 to April 1. Although Philadelphia is clearly a lesser team without Embiid, the franchise doesn’t seem to want to have Embiid return before he’s fully healthy.
Rivers recalled on Wednesday when he was coaching the Los Angles Clippers in 2015 and star point guard Chris Paul was dealing with a hamstring injury during a second round matchup against the Houston Rockets. Paul sat out the first two games, but he played the next five games, albeit at less than full strength. The Rockets came back from a three games to one deficit to win the series in seven games. Looking back, Rivers wonders if resting Paul another game would have helped him recover and help the team win the series.
“Those are the things that you live and you learn and you try to get back,” Rivers said. “Hopefully we can make the right decision here.”
https://news.google.com/__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?oc=5
2021-06-03 04:21:19Z
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