April 24 (UPI) — The Philadelphia 76ers raced to a 60-31 halftime lead and never looked back, defeating the Brooklyn Nets 122-100 on Tuesday night to reach the second round of the NBA playoffs.
The 76ers’ 29-point halftime advantage was their largest in franchise history during the postseason. The 31 points allowed by the team matched the lowest total in the shot-clock era.
“I felt comfortable that we had found a defensive game plan,” Sixers head coach Brett Brown told reporters. “When you lose Game 1, that can be challenged. That notion is it right or is it wrong. To beat this team four times in a row is really hard.”
Philadelphia center Joel Embiid led the team with a game-high 23 points and 13 rebounds. Ben Simmons had 13 points, six assists and five boards.
76ers guard Jimmy Butler had nine points, five rebounds and five assists in 27 minutes. Tobias Harris notched 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Sharpshooter JJ Redick added 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting from 3-point range.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson paced the Nets with a team-high 21 points in 15 minutes off the bench. Caris Levert tallied 18 points, four assists and three rebounds in 31 minutes. Nets point guard D’Angelo Russell, who had 20-plus points in three games during the series, was held to eight points on 3-of-16 shooting.
The 76ers play the Toronto Raptors in the second round. The Raptors lost their playoff opener against the Orlando Magic before rattling off four consecutive wins. Philadelphia also lost its series opener versus the Nets but secured four straight wins. Toronto had a 3-1 record against the 76ers in the regular season.
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