The Philadelphia 76ers got off to a good start with a first win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The Sixers won 119-115 in an away game against rival Boston Celtics at TD Garden on the 2nd (Korean time), with guard James Harden filling in the void left by center Joel Embiid. Harden snatched the victory with a 3-point shot in a 114-115 trail with 8 seconds left at the end of the 4th quarter. Harden scored 45 points, his career high in the playoffs.
The Sixers beat the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of PO in four games, but MVP-level center Embiid’s recurrence of a knee injury suffered a major loss in power. With Embiid’s absence and away rivals, the home team Celtics was expected to win. However, Harden’s shot exploded and swingman Tyrese Maxie added 26 points to secure an important victory in the enemy area.
The 4th seed Sixers easily beat the Brooklyn Nets with 4 wins in the first round of PO and took a 7-day break, and it was their first game in 8 days, and the 2nd seed Celtics played the 1st round against the Atlanta Hawks until the 6th game on the 28th of last month and took a break The period was short.
Celtics forward Jayson Tatum matched Harden with 39 points but failed to lead the team to victory. The game was decided on the 3-point shot. The Sixers made 17 of 38 (44 percent), while the Celtics put 10 of 26 in the net (38 percent). The Celtics took a 38-28 lead on rebounds. The Celtics led 58-50% in field goal percentage, but lost by 4 points in shooting attempts, 89-75.
Sixers manager Doc Rivers is optimistic about Embiid’s Game 2 appearance. Embiid hasn’t played in the PO since Game 3 against the Nets on the 21st of last month.
The rivalry between the two teams dates back to the 1953 Sixers match against the Syracuse Nationals. The Celtics maintain an advantage over the Sixers with a record of 14 wins and 7 losses in the PO series and a record of 62 wins and 48 losses between teams. In particular, they are winning 5 POs in a row, including the 1985 Eastern Conference Finals. The Sixers’ last PO victory over the Celtics was in the 1982 Eastern Finals.ㅋㅋㅋ벳
Meanwhile, in the West, the home team, the Denver Nuggets, defeated the Phoenix Suns 97-87 to record their second win in the series. Denver center Nikola Yogichi displayed 39 points and 16 rebounds in offense and defense, showing off the potential of a team that ranks first in the Western Conference in the regular season.
Phoenix played its part with 35 points from guard Devin Booker, but returned home with the second loss in the series as Kevin Durant’s 3-pointer missed. Durant, who scored 24 points, made only two of 12 3-pointers.