76ers, Hawks, Jazz cruise to series-clinching Game 5 victories

Rest up, Joel Embiid.

With an NBA title still in sight, the 76ers will need their injured franchise center — healthy and ready to roll — in the second round.

Seth Curry scored a playoff career-high 30 points and Philadelphia beat Washington 129-112 on Wednesday night to end the series in five games, overcoming Embiid's absence because of a knee injury.

Embiid is day to day with a small lateral meniscus tear in his right knee and he was reduced to Philadelphia's biggest cheerleader as the Sixers put the misery of last season's first-round sweep behind them.

Coach Doc Rivers, in his first season, said he expected Embiid to return in the postseason.

"I don't know when or how early," he said. "I'm hopeful. I think that's a better way of putting it."

So Embiid and the Sixers wait for Atlanta, who eliminated New York minutes after Philadelphia's victory.

Sixers fans couldn't wait, chanting "We want Brooklyn!" as the seconds ticked off in Game 5.

Led again by Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal, the Wizards were hopeful they could the could take advantage of Embiid's absence and force a return home for Game 6.

With the first capacity crowd this season allowed at Wells Fargo Center — there were 15,523 in the house — the Sixers shook of a slow start and had the place rocking late in the first half when Simmons hit Harris for a 3 and their first lead of the night. Ben Simmons — staunchly defended by Rivers after a slew of missed free throws in Game 4 — hung tight from the line when the Wizards tried to Hack-A-Ben him again.

Hawks eliminate Knicks

Trae Young put the finishing touches on his impressive first playoff series with 36 points and nine assists, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the New York Knicks 103-89 on Wednesday night in Game 5.

Clint Capela backed up his confident words from a day earlier with 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Hawks, who will play the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in their first trip to the Eastern Conference semifinals since 2016. That series begins Sunday.

The profane chants toward the point guard were less frequent than in Games 1 or 2. Young was never rattled by the fans, one of whom was banned after spitting on Young in Game 2.

Now he has silenced them for the summer.

Julius Randle had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks to finish his disappointing first postseason. The winner of the NBA's Most Improved Player award shot 8 for 21 from the field and finished 28 for 94 (29.8 per cent) in the series.

The Hawks won the two games in Atlanta easily and returned to New York confident they could close it out. Capela downplayed the Knicks' attempts to play physically, saying the Hawks could do that and also win the games.

Both coaches shrugged off the tougher talk but it seemed clear the players' emotions had risen. Words were exchanged after Taj Gibson's flagrant foul on De'Andre Hunter in the second hunter, and players had to be separated at halftime after the Knicks' Nerlens Noel and Atlanta's Solomon Hill bumped into each other as the teams were exiting the floor.

WATCH | What addition of Wiggins means for Canadian basketball:

Andrew Wiggins commits to Team Canada, but who else will be on the qualifying tournament roster?

4 years ago

Duration 19:33

This week on North Courts, Vivek, Meghan and Jevohn discuss the upcoming Olympic qualifying tournament in Victoria, and their favourite Canadian playoff moments.

Mavericks take crucial game against Clippers

Luka Doncic scored 42 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. hit two free throws with eight seconds left, and the Dallas Mavericks edged the Los Angeles Clippers 105-100 on Wednesday night to take a 3-2 lead in the first-round playoff series.

It's the third playoff series in NBA history — and first since 1995 — in which the road team won the first five games, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

The Mavs can close out their first series victory since winning the 2011 NBA championship with a win in Game 6 at home Friday in front of a full house.

Paul George led five Clippers starters in double figures with 23 points and 10 rebounds after playing the fourth quarter with four fouls. Kawhi Leonard and Reggie Jackson each added 20 points.

The Clippers bounced back after falling behind by 16 points early in the fourth. They outscored the Mavs 16-6 to get to 95-91, despite turnovers and misses by George and Leonard.

But Hardaway stole the ball from George and hit a 3-pointer. Kristaps Porzingis followed with another 3 and the Mavs led 101-91.

Still, the Clippers weren't done. They ran off nine straight points to get to 101-100 on consecutive 3-pointers by Jackson and Marcus Morris, and a three-point play by Leonard.

Terance Mann stole the ball, drawing roars from the small masked crowd, but Nicolas Batum missed a layup during a wild scramble in which Morris fouled Hardaway. He made both for a 103-100 lead.

Doncic showed no effects from a neck strain. He rallied the Mavs in the third, when they outscored the Clippers 33-21 after leading 56-54 at halftime. Dallas closed the quarter on a 22-3 run, including 11 by Doncic, to lead 89-75.

Jazz dust away Grizzlies

Donovan Mitchell scored 26 of his 30 points in the first half and the Utah Jazz advanced to the second round of the playoffs, beating the Memphis Grizzlies 126-110 on Wednesday night in Game 5.

Mitchell also had 10 assists and six rebounds in 29 minutes, getting a little rest before facing the winner of the Los Angeles Clippers-Dallas Mavericks matchup.

Jordan Clarkson scored 24 points, Rudy Gobert had 23 points and 15 rebounds and Bojan Bogdanovic added 17 points to help power the top-seeded Jazz to their fourth straight victory.

The Memphis big three all played effectively on offence, but got little help from the supporting cast. Ja Morant finished his record-setting first playoff series with 27 points and 11 assists. Canada's Dillon Brooks also had 27 points, and Jonas Valanciunas added 18.

The Jazz have played all season with the bitter taste of blowing a 3-1 lead to Denver in the first round of last year's playoffs.

They didn't even give Memphis a chance to repeat history in this elimination game and led wire-to-wire as they reached the second round for the first time since 2018.