Nets at 76ers
The Brooklyn Nets' guard play proved to be too much in Game 1 of their first-round matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers, who hope to avoid falling into a 2-0 series hole when the teams meet Monday night. Guards D'Angelo Russell, Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie combined for 67 points to lead the sixth-seeded Nets to a 111-102 victory in the best-of-seven series opener Saturday, seizing homecourt advantage away from the No. 3 seed.
"Earlier in the season, especially when we were struggling, we'd lose games like that," Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters. "We'd get a lead and turn the ball over and take bad shots. Our maturity level - our collective maturity - has improved so much. We weren't rattled. You're afraid with this crowd and the team they have that they're going to knock you out of the box quick. We took a couple of punches, took a couple of runs and still kept our composure. That's big progress." The 76ers saw Jimmy Butler score 36 points and Joel Embiid add 22 and 15 rebounds in his return from a knee issue but they were 3-of-25 from beyond the arc and heard plenty of boos in a game they trailed by as many as 16. "If you're going to boo, then stay on that side," guard Ben Simmons snapped at the fans after he was held to nine points while making 1-of-5 free throws. "That's how I feel, if you're a Sixer fan and you're going to boo then stay on that side." Game 3 is Thursday in Brooklyn.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT, YES (Brooklyn), NBCS Philadelphia
ABOUT THE NETS: LeVert paced a 59-point attack for the Brooklyn bench in Game 1 by hitting all three of his 3-pointers in 23 very productive minutes, putting forth a memorable playoff debut roughly two months into his return from a dislocated foot. "Any time you go through adversity like that it definitely makes the reward much sweeter,” LeVert told the media. Forward Ed Davis chipped in 12 points and 16 rebounds off the bench while starter Joe Harris contributed 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
ABOUT THE 76ERS: Embiid notched his double-double in just 24 minutes but he was clearly rusty, missing all five of his 3-point tries and making 5-of-15 shots overall while trying to keep up with Davis. "I'll point exclusively to fatigue," coach Brett Brown told reporters of Embiid's issues. "It's a lot easier running 3-point line to 3-point line than it is rim to rim. ... We tried to play him in five-minute clumps and maximize that, but even that got the better of him from a pace standpoint." Butler's best scoring output since Dec. 7 kept Philadelphia in Game 1, while forward Tobias Harris was limited to four points -- more than 14 below his average -- in his first postseason game since 2016.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Russell scored at least 20 points in 12 of his last 13 games.
2. Sixers SG JJ Redick hit 1-of-4 3-pointers Saturday after making 19-of-40 in his first four games this month.
3. Brooklyn made 24-of-26 free throws in Game 1. Philadelphia was 29-of-42.