The 76ers, winners of 10 games just two seasons ago, are in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 2012.
They await the winner of Milwaukee-Boston. The Celtics lead the series 3-2.
The Sixers won the series 4-1 and turned the Wells Fargo Center into the wildest house party in the city. Embiid had 19 points and 12 rebounds, Simmons had 14 points and 10 boards, and the entire team had rappers, politicians, actors and kids dancing along for the ride.
Mill made a dramatic return hours after Pennsylvania’s highest court ordered him freed while he appeals decade-old gun and drug convictions.
WARRIORS 99, SPURS 91
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Kevin Durant scored 25 points, Draymond Green led a smothering Golden State defense and the Warriors held off late-charging San Antonio to win Game 5 and advance to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Klay Thompson had another stellar shooting performance with 24 points Anthony Averett Color Rush Jersey , and Green contributed all over with 17 points, a career-playoff high 19 rebounds and seven assists. Golden State looked dominant until the fourth quarter even without injured two-time MVP Stephen Curry – and he could be back soon from a left knee injury.
LaMarcus Aldridge converted a three-point play with 1:31 left that pulled the Spurs within 93-89, and then a pair of free throws at 57.2 to make it a two-point game. Green responded with a long jumper at the top of the key then two free throws with 9.1 seconds remaining.
The Warriors will face New Orleans in the West semifinals beginning this weekend at Oracle Arena, having smoothly eliminated the Spurs aside from a brief Game 4 blip Sunday at San Antonio. New Orleans, coached by former Golden State top assistant Alvin Gentry, swept Portland in the first round.
CELTICS 92, BUCKS 87
BOSTON (AP) – Al Horford had 22 points and 14 rebounds, Marcus Smart made an impact in his first game since mid-March and Boston beat Milwaukee for a 3-2 lead in their first-round playoff series.
Smart came off the bench and had nine points, five rebounds, four assists and three blocks in his first game since undergoing right thumb surgery. He played 25 minutes wearing a protective splint and had a key assist late from the bottom of a scrum beneath three Milwaukee players.
Terry Rozier added 16 points and five assists for Boston. The home team has won all five games in the first-round series http://www.raidersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-martavis-bryant-jersey , and Game 6 is Thursday in Milwaukee.
Khris Middleton led the Bucks with 23 points, Jabari Parker added 17 points and eight rebounds, and Giannis Antetokounmpo had a series-low 16 points with 10 rebounds and nine assists.
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The Lakers finished with 35 wins, their most since 2012-13. And coach Luke Walton can live with that.
Jason Hart set career highs with 30 points and seven 3-pointers, and the Lakers defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 115-100 on Wednesday night, closing out a fifth consecutive season without a playoff berth.
”We’re on the right path for where we want to get to,” Walton said. ”Really happy with the progress we made. It was a special, fun year.”
Two-way player Gary Payton II added a career-best 25 points off the bench as the Lakers beat their Staples Center co-tenant for the first time since April 4, 2012, as the visiting team. They went 35-47 under Walton in his second year.
”We’re very confident in what we have to build off of Kody Clark Capitals Jersey ,” Hart said. ”The biggest thing for us is getting the experience and we did that. We all want each other to succeed. We were eliminated from playoff contention and no one went out on their own. Every game until the end of the season, we played hard, competed and played for each other.”
Tobias Harris led the Clippers with 23 points. They ended the season with four straight losses, and finished with a 42-40 record although their streak of consecutive playoff appearances ended at six.
”I don’t like going home, I just don’t,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. ”If we were healthy, we’d be in the playoffs.”
The Lakers led by nine at halftime and stretched it to 22 points in the third, when Hart scored 14 points, hitting three straight 3-pointers.
As a team, the Lakers tied their season high with 17 3-pointers Authentic Saquon Barkley Jersey , including three each by Payton, Alex Caruso and Brook Lopez.
TIP-INS
Lakers: G Lonzo Ball ended his rookie season on the bench, having missed the final eight games with a left knee contusion. In all, he missed 30 games due to injury. Ball averaged 10.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 7.2 assists in 34.2 minutes. … The Lakers were 11-19 without Ball in the lineup. … Fellow rookie F Kyle Kuzma missed the last three games with a sprained left ankle. He averaged 16.1 points and shot 70 percent from the free-throw line.
Clippers: G Lou Williams sat out his second straight game with a sprained right ankle. He averaged career highs in points (22.6), assists (5.3) and minutes (32.8). His bench scoring led the NBA in his 13th season. … They won the season series 3-1. … They had won 21 of 23 against the Lakers since 2012-13 by an average of 15 points. … DeAndre Jordan joined the crowd singalong of ”Sweet Caroline” during a timeout late in the game.
BACK TO EARTH
Andre Ingram came down to earth a night after a 19-point performance in his NBA debut for the Lakers against Houston. The 32-year-old guard scored five points on 2-of-9 shooting and had six assists in 33 minutes. The 10-year veteran of the G League said he had hundreds of messages on his phone on Tuesday. Ingram graduated from American University with a physics degree and he calls math ”a true love of mine.” He tutors high school students when he has time during the G League season and in the offseason to ”keep that part of the brain functioning.”
HE SAID IT
”I don’t even know what to do tomorrow.” – Rivers, who will miss the playoffs for just the fourth time in 19 years of coaching.
LEBRON TO LAKERS?
Channing Frye thinks it’s possible the Lakers could land LeBron James in free agency this summer. ”Any superstar would like to play for Luke (Walton). He’s a players’ coach,” Frye said. ”If that’s not enough, this is also the Lakers and you’d get to play in LA at Staples Center.” Frye will be a free agent, too Cody Latimer Color Rush Jersey , and the veteran forward would like to stay in LA. ”(Expletive), it’s the Lakers,” he said. ”I want to allow them to make the right decisions with bigger-name guys. I’m a pretty good backup, emergency break-the-glass-type guy.”
FAREWELL EMBRACE?
Jordan and Rivers embraced after the game ended, with neither quite sure of their futures in Los Angeles. Jordan has a player option worth $24.1 million for next season, which he could decline and pursue free agency after spending his first 10 years with the Clippers. Rivers will be heading into the final year of his contract. ”I want to be where I’m wanted,” Jordan said. ”I want to have a chance to contend. That’s really what I’m looking at.”
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