Sixers survive Joel Embiid injury, James Harden ejection to take 3-0 series lead

Tyrese Maxey came to the rescue in the Sixers' 102-97 Game 3 win as Harden and Embiid endured tough nights in the first-round series against the Brooklyn Nets.

Sixers center Joel Embiid reacts with teammates forward Tobias Harris and guard De'Anthony Melton after the Sixers beat the Brooklyn Nets in Game 3.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

by Keith Pompey

Published April 20, 2023, 10:42 p.m. ET

NEW YORK — What a game?

We saw tackle hoops, intimidation ball, and trash-talking 101 combined Thursday at the Barclays Center. Over time, folks will remember it as a night when the 76ers defeated the Brooklyn Nets, 102-97, in Game 3 of their first-round series.

But in the immediate aftermath, what stands out are the ejections of Sixers point guard James Harden and Nets center Nic Claxton and a rough night for Sixers center Joel Embiid, who was called for a Flagrant foul 1 and had an overall subpar game.

In the process, the Sixers nearly blew a golden opportunity to take a commanding 3-0 advantage in the best-of-seven series.

But thanks to Tyrese Maxey and a late block by Embiid, folks left the arena wondering: Are the Sixers closing in on their first playoff series sweep in 32 years? Or will the Brooklyn Nets somehow find a way to extend the series?

We’ll find out at 1 p.m. Saturday in Game 4.

Maxey scored 10 straight points in the fourth quarter to give the Sixers a 99-96 lead with 44.7 seconds left. Maxey scored his first points of the second half at 3 minutes, 8 seconds, and then he went on a run.

“Down the stretch, I knew because James was out, I had the ball in my hands,” Maxey said. “Once you have the ball in your hands, you kind of dictate where the ball goes. So I was trying to get it to Joel. If I couldn’t get it to Joel, it’s time to get in the paint and make a play for somebody else or myself.”

Then with the Sixers up, 99-97, Embiid blocked Spencer Dinwiddie’s layup with 8.8 seconds left. P.J. Tucker grabbed the rebound and was fouled. Tucker split a pair of foul shots with 8.0 seconds left. A Brooklyn blunder led to De’Anthony Melton’s dunk with 5.4 seconds left, giving the Sixers their five-point margin of victory.

Maxey finished with a team-high 25 points. Embiid had 14 points on 5-for-13 shooting along with 10 rebounds and two blocks. Harden had 21 points, five rebounds, and four assists before he was ejected.

“For us to rally,” Maxey said, “even after everything with James’ situation ... to rally back and win the game is big time.”

Harden received a Flagrant foul 2 and walked back to the locker room after elbowing Nets swingman Royce O’Neale in the groin area with 13.6 seconds left in the third quarter. Harden originally was called for a common offensive foul, but the infraction was upgraded after the officials reviewed the play.

Soon after, Claxton was ejected for taunting Embiid after dunking on the Sixers center with 8:48 left. Claxton received his second technical foul for his actions, leading to his ejection.

“The game was mucky,” Sixers coach Doc Rivers said. “It really was. It was a hard game to officiate.”

Things got testy

The Sixers knew the Nets would be more physical and become agitators. Asked about his team’s rebounding discrepancy before the game, coach Jacque Vaughn didn’t mince words.

“You got to hit somebody,” Vaughn said of being more physical. “If you want to win, you’ll hit somebody.”

Well, the Nets went after Joel Embiid. It was obvious that their game plan was to mess with the Sixers’ best player. Their tactic appeared to work early on.

The Sixers avoided losing Embiid after things got heated between him and Claxton.

Claxton dunked on Embiid 2:26 into the game. Claxton shoved an off-balance Embiid to the court on the play. Then he walked over and stood over the MVP frontrunner while appearing to say something. Embiid responded by kicking Claxton in the groin area.

But instead of Embiid being ejected, he received a Flagrant 1 foul for the kick. Claxton received a technical foul for stepping over Embiid.

“The contact was deemed unnecessary and based on the point of contact to the leg, it didn’t rise to the level of excessive,” crew chief Tony Brothers said of giving Embiid a Flagrant 1 foul instead of an ejection.

Brothers was asked if Embiid didn’t get a Flagrant 2 because of where the contact was.

“The point of contact dictated that it was only unnecessary contact and not excessive, so yes,” he said.

In other words, Embiid remained in the game for missing his target.

That led to Brothers explaining why Harden was given a Flagrant 2 for elbowing O’Neale.

“Based on the point of contact directly to the groin,” he said, “it rose to the level of excessive and ejection.”

But this was far from Embiid’s only incident.

He had to be separated from another Nets post player after a break in action later in the first quarter. He was subbed out of the game with 1:39 left in the quarter and headed straight to the locker room. Embiid also appeared to twist in ankle in the second quarter before injuring his knee while tangling “up with Cam Johnson underneath the basket after intermission.

“The whole game, you could see what they were doing,” Embiid said. “Just trying to get a rise out of me. I’m too valuable; especially after the first [play], I just understood I’m too valuable to get into that stuff.

“That’s the second time [someone] hit me in the back [and] that’s not reviewed. My back, my knee, hitting me every single time ... which is fine. It’s working for them. But, you know, just gotta keep going.”

Second-round bound

No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series, and only three series have gone to a seventh game after one team opened with a 3-0 lead.

The last time the Sixers swept an opponent was when they beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 3-0, in a best-of-five first-round series in 1991. The last time they swept a best-of-seven series was in he second round against the Bucks in 1985. The NBA’s first-round playoff series went to a best-of-seven format in 2003.

House sidelined

Danuel House Jr. was a late scratch with a non-COVID illness.

House played a total of five minutes in a reserve role in the first two games of the first-round playoff series. He had two rebounds and missed his lone shot attempt. That came after the swingman averaged 4.8 points and 1.7 rebounds in 48 games in the regular season.