basketball
76ers and Celtics win clear at start of NBA playoffs
Joel Embiid (r) and the 76ers made it 1-0 in the series against the Nets. photo
© Derik Hamilton/FR170553 AP/AP/dpa
The favored Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics started the NBA playoffs with clear victories.
The favored Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics started the NBA playoffs with clear victories.
In the first playoff duel of the season, the 76ers beat the Brooklyn Nets 121-101 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seve series. In the 112:99 against the Atlanta Hawks, the Celtics were then even ahead by 32 points and demonstrated strength.
In a sold-out arena with 20,913 spectators, the 76ers never fell behind and continuously increased their lead over the entire duration of the game. James Harden sank seven three-pointers to finish the game with 23 points and 13 assists. Joel Embiid, voted one of the top three players in the main round, scored 26 points. Mikal Bridges’ 30 points for the Nets were not enough.
The Celtics were briefly behind twice at the very beginning, after which the second in the Eastern Conference took control. Jaylen Brown with 29 points, Jayson Tatum with 25 and Derrick White with 24 points had the best yield for the NBA record champions, for the Hawks Dejounte Murray had 24 points. Trae Young stayed at 16 points and never really got going against the strong Celtics defense.