NBA Playoffs 2018-19: 3 Talking points from NBA Playoffs - April 18th; Spurs win decisive Game 3 against Nuggets
The first round of the NBA 2018-19 playoffs has begun and is going on in full swing. The matchups were decided on the last day of the regular season and there are loads of interesting series that have been decided.
The Portland Trail Blazers drew home court advantage and the series against Oklahoma City Thunder, which the Blazers lead, as of now, 2-0. The league leaders in wins, the Milwaukee Bucks, drew the 8th seed Detroit Pistons and will look to sweep them in the series, currently leading 2-0.
The Orlando Magic play the The Toronto Raptors in another interesting clash which the Raptors should win easily but right now, is poised at 1-1. The Boston Celtics play the Indiana Pacers in a game with not much offense on display and the Celtics lead 2-0.
With these games in mind and the matches that took place yesterday, let us look at the 3 biggest talking points from the NBA playoffs on April 18th.
#3 The Philadelphia 76ers are getting into a groove
The Philadelphia 76ers have been a team in top form all throughout the regular season and that landed them the 3rd spot in the Eastern Conference. They finished with a 51-31 record in the regular season.
They landed the series against the 6th seed Brooklyn Nets, which was going to be one of the most entertaining series in the first round of playoff matchups. The Sixers surprisingly lost the first game at home, but then roared back in Game 2 to take the series to an even 1-1.
In Game 3 yesterday, at the Barclays Center, The Nets had home court advantage and were looking to take the game to the 76ers. But the Sixers, who were missing Joel Embiid due to a knee injury, came out blazing and won the game in solid fashion, 131-115.
The 76ers now hold a 2-1 lead in the series, thanks to an amazing performance by Ben Simmons, who scored a solid 31 points, along with 9 assists and 4 rebounds. He also had a superb defensive night, getting 2 steals and 3 blocks as well. Tobias Harris too produced a solid performance, scoring 29 points and grabbing 16 rebounds.
Harris and Reddick were the only 2 players who hit the 3 pointers for the Philadelphia 76ers. The Brooklyn Nets, on the other hand, were unable to get anything going, coming close in the 3rd quarter before falling apart.
Caris LeVert and D'Angelo Russell led the charge for the Nets, scoring 26 points each, but in vain. Even without Joel Embiid, they were unable to really take advantage of his absence. The Nets weren't upto it defensively and with Embiid's status up in the air for Game 4, expect the Nets to buck up and take advantage of it.