PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — No Joel Embiid. No problem.
The Philadelphia 76ers used offensive punch from Seth Curry and Tobias Harris and an opportunistic defense to clinch their first-round series with the Washington Wizards, taking Game 5 on Wednesday 129-112 and winning the series four games to one.
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The contest began with Washington taking the advantage without Embiid in the lineup, but Seth Curry's scoring and Tyrese Maxey's floor leadership led the offensive charge to deadlock the game at 29-all after one period.
Part of the team's struggles came at the three-point line, as they only made 11% of their threes in the game's first 17 minutes.
But their scoring picked up. An offensive surge by Tobias Harris during the second quarter and a late run by Danny Green put the Sixers back in business with a 65-63 lead at halftime.
Harris ended the half leading Philadelphia with 16 points, while Bradley Beal led all scorers with 21 for Washington at that point. The Sixers had only made 46% of their shots before halftime.
Curry reached a career playoff high in the third quarter, getting to the 26 points mark midway through the stanza as the Sixers opened a seven-point lead.
Philadelphia turned defense into offense often in the contest, extending the advantage toward the end of a quarter that ended with a 103-94 lead.
Curry proved to be the biggest part of taking up the slack for the loss of Embiid, with a season high offensive output of 30 points, aided by Tobias Harris knocking home 28 points of his own.
They exploded the lead to 21 around the four-minute mark of the fourth quarter and coasted the rest of the way.
Correct, Dave. Correct.