Washington Wizards 118-125 Philadelphia 76ers: Twitter reacts as Joel Embiid dominates the second half and Russell Westbrook disappoints
The Philadelphia 76ers managed a comfortable victory in game 1 of their NBA playoff series against the Washington Wizards. Joel Embiid played through a slow start and had 3 fouls the first ten minutes. He took charge in the second half while Tobias Harris steadied the ship for the Philadelphia 76ers in the first half. Harris produced his highest ever return in the playoffs, and finished with 37 points and 6 rebounds.
The Washington Wizards went neck-to-neck with the 76ers in the first half but could not keep up in the second. They went in at halftime with a one-point lead but were trailing by 6 points by the end of the third quarter. Westbrook had a poor shooting night while Bradley Beal top-scored with 33 points. In this article, we look at the Twitter reactions for game 1 of the series between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Washington Wizards.
Twitter reacts as Harris and Embiid power the Philadelphia 76ers to victory in game 1 against the Washington Wizards
Joel Embiid accumulated three fouls within the first ten minutes and had to sit out for much of the second quarter. He ended up scoring 30 points in 30 minutes and caught fire in the second half for the Philadelphia 76ers. Tobias Harris had a dream first half and scored 28 points. He converted 2 of his 5 3-point attempts and helped his team keep up with the Wizards in the first half.
The Washington Wizards were lackluster in offense and saw Russell Westbrook convert only 7 of his 17 field goal attempts. Bradley Beal was the standout player for the Wizards and finished with 33 points and 10 rebounds. The Washington Wizards were 40% from the 3-point zone but did not have enough attempts to make a big splash.
They converted 8 of just 20 attempts from beyond the arc, with Bertans getting half of them. On the other hand, the Philadelphia 76ers got 10 of their 32 3-pointers on target. They dominated the paint, especially in the second half, with Embiid taking charge in the third quarter. Tobias Harris produced important plays throughout the game to help the Sixers snatch a win.
The Philadelphia 76ers were not at their very best, with Ben Simmons having an average shooting night. However, he made his defensive presence apparent throughout the game. Simmons finished with a stat line of 6 points, 15 assists and 15 rebounds, and made his case for the defensive player of the year award.
The standout players from the bench for the Phialdelphia 76ers were Dwight Howard and George Hill. The veteran Hill finished with 11 points and converted 5 of his 8 field goal attempts, while Howard scored 7 points and made his presence known on the defensive end.
Both teams will now have their sights set on Game 2, which is scheduled to take place in Philadelphia on Wednesday.