PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jason Tatum scored 27 points and Jaylen Brown scored 23 as the Boston Celtics spoiled Joel Embiid’s MVP crown by defeating the Philadelphia 76ers 114-102 Friday night to take a 2-1 series lead in the Eastern Conference.
Game four is on Sunday in Philadelphia.
Embiid scored 30 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in his second game after recovering from a sprained right knee after receiving the MVP award at the pregame ceremony. James Harden followed up his 2-of-14 effort in the Game 2 loss with 3-for-13 shooting for 16 points.
The Sixers powered up a five-pointer on a De’Anthony Melton 3-pointer to get the crowd back in the game for 20 seconds before Malcolm Brogdon’s save 3-pointer gave Boston a 100-92 lead. Al Horford crushed the Sixers again – as he has for most of his career – when he buried 3 to lead by seven points.
Forced to attempt to win the title on his own without the help of a serious offense, Embiid missed an 18-foot penalty and Tatum dumped a jumper that put the game away. Tatum hit another 3 for good measure and the Celtics took control of the series.
Muhammad Abdul-Majid Abdul-Majid 114
PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker scored 47 points and Kevin Durant added 39 as Phoenix trimmed Denver’s lead to 2-1 in the Western Conference semifinal series.
Booker made another massive offensive effort, shooting 20-of-25 from the field, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range. Durant shot 12 of 31 from the field, but made 14 of 16 free throws.
Denver’s Nikola Jokic scored 30 points, 17 assists and 17 rebounds. Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 32 points, while Michael Porter Jr. added 21 points and 12 rebounds.
The Suns will even attempt the series in Game 4 on Sunday in Phoenix.
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