The Philadelphia 76ers have started the 2023 NBA playoffs the way they were supposed to. With their previous eliminations still haunting them, Doc Rivers' men seem to be on a mission this year.
The Sixers are just one win away from sweeping the Brooklyn Nets and switch their attention to the next round. After winning the first two games in the City of Brotherly Love, the 76ers beat the Nets in Brooklyn in an extremely heated game.
Things got spicy early in the first quarter, when Joel Embiid kicked Nic Claxton after the Nets player stepped over him. The MVP candidate only received a Flagrant 1 foul, and after the game he said the Nets wanted to get him ejected.
Joel Embiid calls out Nets for allegedly trying to get him ejected
“The whole game, you could see what they were doing — just trying to get a rise out of me," Embiid said, via NBC Sports. "Especially after the first one, I just understood I’m too valuable to get into this stuff. … Hitting me in the back, that’s not reviewed. My back, my knee, hitting me every single time, which is fine. It’s working for them, but just got to keep going.
“You could see what the game plan was: Got to hit them. Got to make me frustrated so I could get ejected. I’m too mature to put myself in the position where I’m going to get ejected. So I’m glad I just went about my business and we got the win.”
Well, Embiid and company are just one step away from putting all of this behind them. If the Sixers beat the Nets on Saturday at the Barclays Center on Saturday, they'd complete the sweep and claim a ticket to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
