Joel Embiid racks up double-double as Philadelphia 76ers eliminate Brooklyn Nets
Wednesday 24 April 2019 11:57, UK
Joel Embiid racked up a double-double as the Philadelphia 76ers blew out the Brooklyn Nets in Game 5 to seal a 4-1 series win.
Embiid collected 23 points and 13 rebounds as the Philadelphia 76ers secured a wire-to-wire 122-100 victory to close out their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series in five games.
The 76ers advance to the conference semi-finals for the second straight season where they will face the second-seeded Toronto Raptors, who complete a 4-1 series win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night.
After a hard-fought first four games of the series, the 76ers were able to cruise in their Game 5 win.
Embiid raced to 10 points as the 76ers scored the game's first 14 points. It took the Nets 14 possessions to score their first basket and the Sixers streaked to a 32-15 lead after the opening quarter.
Philadelphia took a 60-31 lead into half-time and opened their first 30-plus-point lead when Embiid buried a three-pointer on their first possession of the second half.
Embiid made 9-of-18 shots in 20 minutes for the Sixers and helped them 76ers finish with an overwhelming 68-44 advantage in points scored in the paint.
He left the game for good with 6:26 remaining in the third quarter with Philadelphia in total command.
Speaking after the game, Embiid said: "We've just got to take one game at a time but we understand that we have all the talent we need, especially, to win it all.
"This is my second time being [in the postseason]. And last year, we were kind of, I would say, overconfident on what we could have done, but this year is just about respecting everything about the game of basketball and just putting the work in."
Click the video at the top of the page to watch Embiid's Game 5 double-double.
