NEW YORK — Another Tobias Harris corner 3-pointer went splash, prompting coach Doc Rivers to raise both arms to high-five the 76ers’ standout forward as he came off the floor for a timeout.
Game. Set. Sweep.
In a game played without MVP frontrunner Joel Embiid because of a sprained right knee, Harris’ 25 points and 12 rebounds lifted the Sixers to a 96-88 victory over the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center to close out their first first-round series, 4-0.
The win completed the Sixers’ first sweep in a best-of-seven series since 1985. And they survived an afternoon — and avoided a Game 5 back in Philly — when they shot 39.6% from the floor without their biggest star. Embiid’s status remains uncertain as his team awaits the second round, which would begin next Saturday at the earliest. Paul Reed started in Embiid’s place Saturday, finishing with 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting and 15 rebounds.
The Sixers seized the advantage for good after a Mikal Bridges falling jumper briefly gave Brooklyn a 72-70 lead with less than nine minutes remaining. De’Anthony Melton answered with a 3-pointer, sparking a 13-2 run to push the Sixers to an 83-74 lead with less than five minutes to play.
Harris’ 11-of-19 shooting effort capped a consistently strong series, when he scored at least 20 points in three of the Sixers’ four victories. Tyrese Maxey added 16 points on 6-of-20 shooting and eight rebounds. James Harden flirted with a triple-double (17 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds) despite shooting 4 of 18 from the floor as his struggles to finish at the rim resurfaced.
The Sixers initially chipped away, then took the lead, throughout the third quarter.
After a Dorian Finney-Smith 3-pointer gave the Nets a 53-42 lead early in the period, a Harris turnaround jumper ignited a 21-4 run to flip that double-digit deficit into a six-point advantage. Later, Maxey held his follow-through as his 3-pointer from the right wing went splash to put the Sixers up 63-57, prompting a Nets timeout.
Without Embiid on the floor, Nets center Nic Claxton scored 15 of his 19 points in the first half, and added 12 rebounds. Spencer Dinwiddie had 20 points, six assists and three rebounds. The Sixers initially limited Nets rising star Bridges until he caught some rhythm late, scoring 15 of his 17 points in the final 13 minutes of game action.
In the middle
Reed flashed his skill set early Saturday, responding to getting blocked by Claxton by corralling the ball, recollecting himself and putting the ball in the basket. After struggling on both ends in the first half while Claxton efficiently scored, Reed made some important, quintessential Reed plays during the Sixers’ third quarter run.
His jump hook cut the Nets’ lead to 53-52, before a finish off a feed from Harden gave the Sixers a three-point advantage. He also pulled down a one-handed rebound, and swiped a steal that led to Maxey’s timeout-prompting 3-pointer. Reed later fielded another nifty pass from Harden and laid the ball in to give the Sixers a 78-72 lead with less than seven minutes to play.
Behind Reed, Montrezl Harrell got his first real playing time of this series with five first-half minutes. P.J. Tucker also played a short stint as a small-ball center in the first quarter, and at the start of the final period.
Other rotation tweaks included Maxey playing with the second unit (Harrell, Melton, Jalen McDaniels and Georges Niang) at the beginning of the second quarter, when he connected on a floater after putting a move on the Nets’ Cam Johnson and swiping a steal that he turned into a layup. Harden was back with that group at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Shake Milton also got legitimate minutes for the first time in this series, entering about midway through the second quarter and immediately drawing a foul on a drive to the basket.
Rough start
The Sixers looked like a team missing the MVP frontrunner in the first half, shooting 34% from the floor and 2 of 11 from 3-point range while trailing by as many as 11 points.
They lacked ball and body movement, and did not generate as many open looks without Embiid constantly drawing extra defenders. Harden and Maxey both went 3 of 10 from the floor before the break.
Harris was the only Sixer with offensive rhythm, making five of his eight attempts for 11 points. That included a corner 3-pointer off a kick-out pass from Harden in the second quarter.
