Joel Embiid pumped his fist in the air, urging the Philly crowd to get louder as Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey hit groundbreaking 3s and hampered Brooklyn runs with clutch boards.
“He’s as happy as I’ve ever seen him since I’ve been here with other guys taking pictures,” said third-year coach Doc Rivers. “He really celebrated his teammates tonight.”
For good reason. For a franchise player who grew up in the organization to trust the process, Embiid has finally learned how to trust his teammates.
Maxey hit six 3-pointers to score 33 points, Embiid and Harris 20 each, and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Brooklyn Nets 96-84 on Monday night to take a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference playoff series.
Embiid, the two-time NBA scoring champion, was quiet offensively, going 6-of-11 from the floor, but he did just about everything else. The MVP finalist had 19 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks.
Tyrese Maxey – and the boisterous Philadelphia crowd – celebrate their victory over the Nets
Tyrese Maxey was in fine form for the 76ers, scoring 33 points in Game 2 victory over Nets
Tobias Harris celebrates against the Nets as Philly took control of the Round 1 series at home
“A lot of people think I just like to score basketball,” Embiid said. ‘I don’t think it’s true. I enjoy winning.’
Embiid’s increased confidence in his teammates is one of the reasons the third-seeded Sixers are expecting a deep run in the playoffs.
“Better teammates help,” Rivers said with a laugh. Maturity and preparation. We work on it every day.’
Harris had 12 rebounds. James Harden scored just eight points on 3-of-13 shooting for the Sixers after a sensational Game 1 effort.
Game 3 is Thursday in New York.
Cam Johnson led the Nets with 28 points. Johnson sent Embiid stumbling on a one-handed dunk along the right side posterizing the 7-footer. Johnson stared at Embiid as the Nets forward backed off on defense in the first half.
“I don’t remember going into hiding,” Embiid tried to say with a straight face.
The slam was Brooklyn’s last GIF-worthy highlight.
Perhaps the 76ers just needed to listen to their coach more as they chase their first NBA championship since 1983.
Cam Johnson (right) started hot for the Nets, but they’ve got it all going in Games 3 and 4
James Harden, formerly of the Nets, dribbles against Nic Claxton during the Game 2 game
After Brooklyn scored the first bucket of the second half, Rivers called a quick timeout.
‘Come on guys! Come on!’ Rivers pleaded in the group. “Listen, it’s up to you all what you all want to do.”
How about finally deciding the game.
“It’s about time we realized we have to be ready,” Harris said of the time-out speech. “We need to pick up our energy again. We need to pick up on our body language. This is our arena. This is our home floor. This is our victory that we must achieve.’
Maxey, who kept the Sixers alive with 15 points in the first half, was crammed near the rim on a quick break, but Harris followed for the bucket and the 76ers eventually tied at 55-all. Maxey didn’t miss the next possession – a corner 3 that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Then PJ Tucker missed a 3, grabbed his own rebound, settled for Harden and the Beard buried his first 3 of the game. Harris came right back and connected on a 3 that left him hopping and swinging his arms off the field, heading for a timeout.
Embiid then erupted in celebration with the Sixers leading 64-56.
Joel Embiid drives to the basket past Seth Curry at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia
“We didn’t play our best basketball, but in the second half we figured out what worked and we kept doing that over and over again,” Embiid said.
Philly’s scoring spurt was about it for the Nets, who shot 35% in the second half.
“The only adjustment was that the ball didn’t go in the hole for us,” said Nets coach Jacque Vaughn. “We got cans open, they were trying to go in the zone, we had plenty of shooting out there. The ball just didn’t go in.’
The Sixers needed the spark after going from Game 1 dominance to Game 2 disaster in the first half.
No Sixer represented that drop more than Harden. His seven 3s kept the Sixers steady in the opener, but the aging veteran – who battled left Achilles tendon pain during the regular season – was overwhelmed in Game 2. He missed 6 of 7 shots in the first half and all four 3-point attempts. Throw in two fouls and five lost possessions and it was a miracle that the Sixers trailed only 49-44 at the break.
Mikal Bridges had 21 points for the Nets, but couldn’t help them to a series-leveling win
“As bad as we played offensively, we were only five points behind,” said Maxey. “We knew if we could get our offense to catch up with our defense and stay stingy on defense, we knew we had a chance.”
Holding only a thin lead was supposed to upset the nets. Johnson scored 22 points in the half, but – as in Game 1 – the nets were crushed on the boards and in the paint. Embiid scored eight points, but took 15 boards, 13 defensively.
Embiid, who wore a “Best Dad Ever” sweatshirt on stage after his young son joined him after Game 1, countered some offensive frustration with a two-handed jam late in the game that rallied the crowd.
“We kept Embiid below average,” Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith said. They were just the best team tonight. They found a way to get it out.’