The 76ers faced off against Washington Wizards for Game 5 after losing in Game 4 122-114 after Joel Embiid’s injury in the first quarter.
Entering the court without their star center, the 76ers looked to close out the series with a win over the Wizards on Wednesday night.
With three starters Seth Curry, Tobias Harris, and Ben Simmons stepping up in Embiid’s absence, the 76ers defeated the Wizards 129-112.
Seth Curry scored playoff career-high points while Simmons dropped a triple-double.
The 76ers now entered the Eastern Conference Semifinals and face the Atlanta Hawks.
On the other hand, Bradley Beal led the scorers, dropping 32 points despite the loss.
Both tied the game in the first quarter.
Russell Westbrook started the quarter with a jumper and Simmons answered back with a layup.
Bradley Beal dropped a layup on the next possession.
Seth Curry’s miss pass to Simmons led to another bucket for the Wizards with Rui Hachimura dropping a layup.
Subsequently, they were 8-4 with 10 minutes remaining in the quarter as Curry dropped a long jumper for two points.
Russell Westbrook dropped a jumper and Beal added another jumper subsequently.
Matisse Thybulle deflected Gafford’s pass to Westbrook.
And Tobias Harris lob to Simmons led to a bucket for the 76ers in transition.
Simmons punches home the oop on @NBATV! 💥 pic.twitter.com/bxPxTe1y8R
— NBA (@NBA) June 2, 2021
Subsequently, Curry knocked down a three-pointer leading to a 5-0 run and cutting the lead to a point.
They were 14-13 with 7 minutes remaining in the first quarter as Beal dropped a reverse layup.
Harris answered back with a jump shot over Hachimura.
Thybulle dropped a dunk on Simmons’s pass and cut the Wizards’ lead to one point.
The Wizards quickly made a 6-0 run after Gafford dropped a jump shot and Ish Smith came up with a layup.
The Wizards were with a seven-point lead as the clock showed 2:49 remaining in the quarter.
Dwight Howard then blocked Beal and Furkan Korkmaz knocked a two-pointer next.
They were 29-25 with under a minute left to play as Maxey’s passed to Howard for a dunk.
The game tied 29-29 in the first quarter.
The 76ers took the lead in the second quarter.
Robin Lopez started the quarter with a bucket on George Hill‘s pass after over a minute into the quarter.
They were 34-31 with 9:42 remaining in the quarter as Korkmaz dropped a bucket on Maxey’s pass.
Hachimura answered back, knocking down a jumper. Maxey then dropped a jumper.
The Wizards still with a three-point lead as Maxey dropped a layup next.
Beal quickly dropped a layup on the other end.
Westbrook lost the ball and Maxey drove straight to the rim, knocking down a layup.
TOUGH Tyrese transition take!@WashWizards 42@sixers 41#NBAPlayoffs on NBA TV pic.twitter.com/n5Fxer0Aca
— NBA (@NBA) June 2, 2021
Gafford dropped a layup on Westbrook’s pass and Raul Neto dropped a three-pointer on the next possession.
Curry answered back, knocking down a long three-pointer. Hachimura dropped a three-pointer on the other end subsequently.
Harris dropped a jumper and Neto answered with a jump shot.
Later Simmons stole the ball from Hachimura.
They were 51-49 with under three minutes left to play in the quarter as Beal knocked down a jumper.
Harris answered back with a layup and Westbrook came up with a jumper next.
Simmons knocked down a floater cutting the lead to two points with 1:30 remaining in the quarter.
The 76ers took a point lead after Harris knocked down a three-pointer.
Harris is heating up ♨️
He’s up to 16 PTS. pic.twitter.com/lwVpXGOThz
— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 3, 2021
But the Wizards were in the lead back with 9.5 seconds remaining.
Danny Green then dropped a three-pointer and the 76ers ended the quarter 65-63 with two points lead.
The 76ers dominated the Wizards in the third quarter.
Westbrooks started the third quarter, knocking down a three-pointer after over a minute into the game.
Curry then drove to the rim, knocking down a jumper.
Westbrook then came up with a jump shot and Curry subsequently knocked down a step-back three-pointer.
Beal dropped a hook shot on his own miss, tying the game at 70-70 with 9:16 remaining in the quarter.
The 76ers took a two-point lead again but Beal knocked down a three-pointer, taking the lead back.
They were 73-77 with 7:18 remaining in the quarter as Westbrook knocked down a three-pointer and cut the lead to one -point.
Harris answered back with a three-pointer on Curry’s pass. He also deflected Beal’s pass to Hachimura and passed to Simmons.
Simmons was HYPED after this and-1 😤 pic.twitter.com/vb67qZ4ROb
— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 3, 2021
Simmons then drew a foul along with a layup. Thybulle added another bucket, knocking down a three-pointer
Lopez dropped a hook shot, cutting the 76er’s lead to two points.
They were 95-87 with the 76ers’ in the lead as the clock showed 1:57 remaining.
Dwight Howard blocked Lopez at the rim. Subsequently, Simmons drove to the rim and dropped a layup.
George Hill lob for Howard gave another bucket for the 76ers.
Smith knocked down a three-pointer with 28.9 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Korkmaz dropped a three-pointer on the other end.
The quarter ended 94-103 with the 76ers taking the lead.
The 76ers continued to dominate in the fourth quarter.
Howard started the quarter with a block on Smith. And Korkmaz knocked down a three-pointer next.
Maxey dropped a layup leading to a 5-0 run. Beal then dropped a fadeaway jumper.
Subsequently, they were 97-110 with under nine minutes remaining in the game as Hachimura knocked down a jump shot.
Tobias Harris passed to Simmons for a bucket and Curry added a bucket on the next possession.
Seth is cooking tonight ♨️
30-piece for Curry pic.twitter.com/jp63WQDMb8
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 3, 2021
Simmons dropped a two-handed dunk and the 76ers took a 19-point lead.
Harris came up with a floater leading to a 12-2 run and the 76ers took 21 point lead with 4:13 remaining in the quarter.
Hachimura dropped a jumper. And Harris knocked down a long jumper on the other end.
Hachimura came up with another jumper and Maxey answered back with a hook shot.
Finally, the game ended 112-129 and the 76ers advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
They will now face Atlanta Hawks on Sunday who defeated the Knicks and took a 4-1 lead.
Curry, Simmons, and Harris combined for the win.
The 76ers entered the court without Joel Embiid. What could have been a difficult game for the 76ers without their star center, turned out well with three starters Curry, Simmons, and Harris stepping up in the game.
“We know we’ve got enough without Joel out there to win a few games,” Seth Curry said. “We don’t have a choice — we’ve got to have that confidence and believe. We’ve got a lot of confident guys. Joel has been huge for us all year. It’s only right for us to give him as much time as he needs to get back and help us win it all.”
Seth Curry led the 76ers, dropping his playoff career-high points.
He scored 30 points and 2 assists playing 31 minutes and was 10 of 17 from a field goal.
🔔 30 PTS for @sdotcurry (#NBAPlayoffs career-high)
🔔 28 PTS, 9 REB, 6 AST for @tobias31
🔔 The @sixers advance to the East Semis vs. ATL, with Game 1 Sunday. pic.twitter.com/rgXt9x1Lmh
— NBA (@NBA) June 3, 2021
Followed by Tobias Harris, who dropped 28 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists.
“It was an opportunity for the team to bond. It was us just chopping it up and talking,” Tobias Harris said. “We let that game go and just said, ‘Hey, we’re going to win the next one and keep it rolling.'”
While Ben Simmons grabbed his 3rd playoff triple-double, scoring 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists.
“We’ve got the pieces and tools to do it,” said Ben Simmons, who had 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists in the win. “We’ve been in this situation before during the season. We know what we have to do.”
Besides them, the other three 76ers players scored in double-figures all coming off the bench.
On the other hand, Tyrese Maxey led the 76ers bench, scoring 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Followed by Dwight Howard who scored 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists. While Furkan Korkmaz dropped 10 points.
Bradley Beal led the Wizards.
The Wizards started the game strong, taking the lead at the start of the first quarter but failed to keep up the momentum.
Despite the loss, the Wizards had great offensive plays.
Bradley Beal led the Wizards, scoring 32 points along with 7 rebounds and 5 assists.
Followed by Russell Westbrook, who dropped 24 points and 10 assists double-double along with 9 rebounds.
While Rui Hachimura dropped 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists.
