Philadelphia Sixers Seek 3-0 Lead On Brooklyn Nets

Author Cam Silver

April 20th, 2023 3:25 PM

The Nets threw tried everything with Joel Embiid, when there was a double team he was able to find teammates who could make plays.

The Sixers will be seeking to take a 3-0 lead in the series after taking care of business at home in the first two games.

For the third straight year, the Sixers can take a 3-0 lead in the opening round of the playoffs. This would also be the seventh straight postseason win against the Nets. If Philadelphia can win Game 3 they will have a chance to close out the series Saturday afternoon.

So far in the first two games, Embiid is averaging 23 points. In the first game, he had 26 points, and the Sixers never trailed. In game 2 he had 20 points and kept the ball moving every time the Nets tried to trap him.

“I believe in playing the right way, which is getting your teammates involved,” Embiid said. “(Playing against) double- and triple-teams, making sure everyone touches the ball and sees the ball. That’s what I believe in.”

The Sixers attacked the boards in Game 2 with a commanding 56-33 rebounding edge. Embiid was a huge part of that grabbing 19 boards himself. It is his second-highest total in a playoff game and the seventh time in the playoffs having 15 boards or more.

Embiid had his second-most assists in a playoff game with seven. He got help from guys like Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris. Maxey scored 18 of his 33 in the second half and Harris scored 13 of his 30 in the second half as well.

The Nets’ biggest problem is that they cannot score consistently. In the second half of Game 2, they shot 37.5 percent, their second-lowest all season. Cameron Johnson had 28 points and a big dunk over Embiid to help the Nets lead by five at the half. After scoring 30 in Game 1 the Sixers held Bridges to 21 points on 6-of-15 from the field.

“The only adjustment made was the ball didn’t go in the hole for us,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said. “We got open looks, they tried to go zone, we had enough shooting out there. The ball just didn’t go in.”

Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie has not performed well so far in this series. He is 10-for-26 in the series and 13-for-47 in the last four games. In that same span, he has missed 16 of 18 3-pointers.

The Nets possibly have no chance to win this series, if they keep doubling and triple-teaming Embiid and the rest of the Sixers’ knock down shots this series will be over Saturday afternoon.

Jennifer Coolidge, Pedro Pascal Among 2023 TIME100 Most Influential People

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  Her longtime friend and sometimes rom-com co-star, Jimmy Fallon had some nice words to say about Barrymore. He says, "When I say this woman can do anything in the world, I mean, this woman can do anything in the world." She has a beauty line, Flower Beauty, a kitchen appliance line, Beautiful By Drew, and of course, her daytime talk show. Fallon described Drew as someone who sees no limits and actually loves a challenge.

• Ali Wong

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  Wong's 'Always Be My Maybe' co-star Randall Park and her go way back -- to their college days. He says he admires the 'Beef' star's "strong sense of self." Wong is committed to her comedy craft and the people dear to her in life.

• Austin Butler

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  Angela Bassett loved Butler's performance in 'Elvis' and knew he put in so much work into his performance. She said he offered a perspective on the musician so viewers can just see the artist's journey "through a different lens. Austin accomplished this with a brilliantly nuanced performance."
• Aubrey Plaza

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  Plaza's 'Parks and Rec' co-star Amy Poehler called her work over the past decade "acutely truthful and always surprising." She added that Aubrey loves an outsider and roots for the underdog. "She has learned the glorious freedom that comes from not wanting your approval."

• Salma Hayek

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  "Salma is a great observer and feels everything deeply," Penelope Cruz says. "She’s strong yet sensitive, and she can read people very well." The 'Bandidas' co-star is most proud of Hayek always being entirely herself. "As one of the first Latinas working in Hollywood, she’s opened so many doors for people who followed. She is a total revolutionary, and there’s still so much she will do."

• Zoë Saldana

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  Saldaña's 'After Sex' co-star Mila Kunis calls her "the ultimate bada-- in the entertainment industry." Zoe has been a trailblazer for women and people of color in Hollywood, "advocating for greater diversity and representation," Kunis adds.
• Jennifer Coolidge

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  Coolidge's 'The Watcher' co-star Mia Farrow recalls a recent text she sent that is SO Jennifer Coolidge. “Let’s make a video where you and I are beating the sh-- out of each other… Does that seem too desperate???” Of the "national treasure's" recent recognition of her acting work, Farrow is happy people love her "eccentric mannerisms, hilarious improvisations, and, most of all, aching vulnerability."

• Ke Huy Quan

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  Before this year, most people remembered the actor as a boy in 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.' Between the 38-year gap, Tom Hiddleston was in awe of his "triumphant return with his soul-stirring, multiverse-jumping, Oscar-winning performance as Waymond in 'Everything Everywhere All at Once.'

• Pedro Pascal

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  The "mommy" to Pascal's "daddy," Sarah Paulson was the perfect person to do his feature. After all, she's known him for 30 years and has his number. She calls him "the whole motherf---ing deal." Sarah assures us that Pascal is everything we hope he is: "powerful, soulful, hilarious, goofy, capable of having the deepest conversations, willing to hold your hair back when you’re sick, and in possession of the broadest shoulders to lean on. He is no figment—he’s real."
• Doja Cat

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  Doja's at the top because she works to bring "everything she does to the highest possible level." She is "creatively plugged in" to the internet, personally connecting with her fans. Most importantly, there’s no “brand” to Doja Cat. "You never know what she’s going to do next."

• Elon Musk

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  Time notes that in 1999, he was just another "Silicon Valley techie with a startup." But he soon distinguished himself when he landed rockets on platforms in the ocean, pioneered the electric-vehicle revolution, and changed how we think about energy in many forms. And of course, these days he owns Twitter. Time called it "a nonstop grievance tantrum we must all endure."

• Natasha Lyonne

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  Not far off from her 'Poker Face' character, Taika Waititi describes Lyonne as someone who is a brilliant liar. "The more you get to know her, the more you realize that spinning tales and telling stories is in her blood."

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Author Cam Silver

Category:

• Local Sports
• Fox Sports Radio NJ
• Sports

Tags:

Brooklyn Nets,NBA