NBA playoffs: Sixers to play Nets in first round
This is the Sixers’ second consecutive trip to the playoffs.
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The 76ers have earned the No. 3 seed in the NBA playoffs and will play the No. 6 Brooklyn Nets in the first round.
The series opens at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday in Philadelphia.
The two teams have staged some classic battles this season in splitting four games. The Nets won, 122-97, at home on Nov. 4.
On Nov. 27, the Sixers evened the series in Brooklyn when Jimmy Butler sank a 27-foot three-pointer with 0.4 seconds left to win the game, 127-125. Butler finished with a team-high 34 points, while D’Angelo Russell led the Nets with 38.
The Nets won a 127-124 decision in Philadelphia on Dec. 12 as Spencer Dinwiddie scored 39 points off the bench.
The Sixers then evened the series with a 123-110 home win on March 28 when Joel Embiid scored 39 points and added 13 rebounds and six assists.
Russell, an All-Star point guard, averaged 21 points and 7.3 assists in the four games against the Sixers. Embiid averaged 30 points, 14.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists.
The Sixers advanced to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs last year before losing to Boston in five games. This is the Nets’ first postseason appearance since the 2014-15 season.
Here is the complete schedule:
Game 1: Saturday, April 13, 2:30 p.m., at Sixers (ESPN)
Game 2: Monday, April 15, 8 p.m., at Sixers (TNT)
Game 3: Thursday, April 18, 9 p.m., at Brooklyn (TNT)
Game 4: Saturday, April 20, 3 p.m., at Brooklyn (TNT)
Game 5 (if necessary): Tuesday, April 23, TBD, at Sixers (TBD)
Game 6 (if necessary): Thursday, April 25, TBD, at Brooklyn (TBD)
Game 7 (if necessary): Saturday, April 27, TBD, at Sixers (TNT)