MANILA – Philadelphia 76ers pushed the Washington Wizards on the brink of elimination following a 132-103 Game 3 victory in their NBA Eastern Conference first-round playoffs on Saturday at the Capital One Arena in Washington.
Joel Embiid tallied playoffs career-high 36 points, while Tobias Harris added a double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds as the 76ers cruised to a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Daniel Green and Seth Curry contributed 15 markers apiece, while Ben Simmons chipped in 14 points, nine assists, and five rebounds for Philadelphia.
The 76ers got it going early behind outside hits by Green for a 36-26 lead. The Wizards then rallied to 36-40 in the second period, but Embiid went to work for Philadelphia for a 72-58 halftime edge.
The Wizards scored 64-72 early in the third before the 76ers dominated the court on triples by Embiid, Harris, and Curry as the gap reached its largest at 130-101.
Russell Westbrook finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists, while Bradley Beal and Daniel Gafford have 25 and 16 markers, respectively, for the Wizards.
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks completed their revenge on last year’s tormentor Miami Heat with 120-103 Game 4 domination to sweep their Eastern Conference first-round series.
The Bucks got their offense going on the second half to erase a 64-57 halftime deficit and build a 12-point edge. It went on to grow further for Milwaukee and stretched to 120-101.
Brook Lopez top-scored with 25 points, Bryn Forbes drained 22 points, while Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 15 assists for the Bucks.
On the other hand, Portland Trail Blazers leveled their Western Conference first-round series with the Denver Nuggets at 2-2 with a lopsided 115-95 victory in Game 4.
Norman Powell drained four triples and ended with 29 points, while CJ McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic, and Carmelo Anthony got 21, 17, and 12 markers, respectively, for Portland.
BOX SCORE:
PHILADELPHIA 132 – Embiid 36, Harris 20, Green 15, Curry 15, Simmons 14, Scott 6, Howard 5, Hill 5, Thybulle 5, Milton 4, Maxey 4, Korkmaz 3, Joe 0, Reed 0.
WASHINGTON 103 – Westbrook 26, Beal 25, Gafford 16, Hachimura 10, Bertans 8, Smith 7, Lopez 4, Matthews 3, Len 2, Neto 2, Bonga 0, Gill 0.
QUARTERSCORES:
36-28, 72-58, 109-86, 132-103./PN
