The American Professional Basketball (NBA) Philadelphia 76ers became the first team to advance to the second round of the playoffs (PO) this season, with “hairy” James Harden filling the void left by ace Joel Embiid.
Philadelphia defeated Brooklyn 96-88 in the 2022-2023 season NBA Eastern Conference PO 1st round (4 wins from 7 games) held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, USA on the 23rd (Korean time), and won 2 with 4 wins. Confirmed to advance to the rotation.
Philadelphia, who ranked 3rd in the East this season (54-38) and made the PO, moved up to the next round with a 7-4 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1984-1985 season with NBA legends Julius Irving and Moses Malone. It has been 38 years since the second round.
In the 1990-1991 season PO 1st round, he defeated the Milwaukee Bucks with 3 consecutive wins and reached the 2nd round, but at the time it was a 5-3 win system.
In today’s game, there were many observations that Philadelphia would struggle as centerpiece center Embiid, who suffered pain in his right knee after the third game, was absent and Brooklyn’s all-out offensive was expected to escape the elimination crisis.
In fact, Philadelphia allowed 15 points to opponent center Nick Claxton until the second quarter, trailing 40-48 in the first half.
In the second half, Philadelphia’s guard led the counterattack.
Tyrese Maxey led the team’s offense by scoring 10 points in the third quarter, and in the fourth quarter, D’Anthony Melton poured in 15 points, including 3 points and 4 shots.
James Harden, who formed a one-two punch with Embiid, did his part as a point guard, delivering nine assists in the second half alone.
Melton, who received Harden’s pass 9 minutes before the end of the game, scored 3 points and turned the score 73-72. Philadelphia scored consecutively in the next 6 minutes, such as Tobias Harris, Melton, and Paul Reed, and ran away by a double-digit score.
Harris took the lead with 25 points and 12 rebounds, and Harden also played an active role in all directions with 17 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds.
Brooklyn, which entered the PO in 6th place in the East (45-37), became the first team to be eliminated from the PO stage this season following last season.
In the 2021-2022 season, Brooklyn met the Boston Celtics led by Jayson Tatum in the first round of PO and lost 4 times in a row.
Meanwhile, the 8th place Miami Heat (44-38) defeated 1st place Milwaukee (58-24) 121-99 at home, making the series 2-1.
Shooter Duncan Robinson, who hit 3 points and 5 shots, scored 20 points and became the number one contributor to the victory. Ace Jimmy Butler also exploded with 30 points.
In the West, the 4th place (45-37) Phoenix Suns (3-1) defeated the 5th place (44-38) Los Angeles (LA) Clippers (1-3) 112-100 on the road and won the 2nd round Only 1 win left to advance.
Kevin Durant and Devin Booker posted 31 and 30 points, and ‘field commander’ Chris Paul also added 19 points and 9 assists.
At the Clippers, where ace Kawhi Leonard was injured, Russell Westbrook exploded with 37 points, but could not turn the tide.메이저놀이터
The LA Lakers (43-39), ranked 7th in the West, also beat the 2nd-place Memphis Grizzlies (51-31) 111-101 at home and took a 2-1 lead.
Anthony Davis played an active role in the offense and defense with 31 points, 17 rebounds and 3 blocked shots, and Japanese player Rui Hachimura also played his part with 16 points and 5 rebounds from the bench.
In Memphis, Jar Merant was fierce with 45 points, 13 assists and 9 rebounds, but fellow players bowed their heads in silence at the Lakers’ defense, which was led by Davis. [Yonhap News=Comprehensive]