Kevin Hart laughed as he tried to floss dance with a kid as they were both egged on by rapper Meek Mill. Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie awkwardly waved his arms around the way any 60-something-year-old man would attempting to look hip next to star entertainers.
This postseason potpourri of comic Mohamed Sanu Jersey , ex-con and champion unfolded on the sideline of another 76ers’ romp.
Mill, the Philadelphia-born rapper released from prison only hours earlier, snagged the Game 5 headlines.
Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and the rest of the Sixers stole the show.
Embiid and Simmons shined again in front of Mill, and the dominant duo ushered the nightmares-into-dreams Process of the Philadelphia 76ers into the second round with a 104-91 win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday night.
The 76ers, winners of 10 games just two seasons ago, are in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 2012. The Sixers won the series 4-1 and turned the Wells Fargo Center into the wildest house party in the city.
”I’ve been waiting for this moment,” Embiid said.
Embiid had 19 points and 12 rebounds, Simmons had 14 points and 10 boards, and the entire team was energized by Mill’s surprise appearance. Mill made a dramatic return hours after Pennsylvania’s highest court ordered him freed while he appeals decade-old gun and drug convictions.
They await the winner of Milwaukee-Boston. The Celtics lead the series 3-2.
The Sixers are the latest team to sweep up the city in a sports euphoria that hasn’t died down since the Eagles beat the New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl.
Look around the arena, and the champs were all around.
Lurie was in the house and so were a handful of Eagles. The national champion Villanova Wildcats were feted during the game. The Wildcats posed with Mill in the locker room and then stopped for selfies on the way to the court for a brief celebration. The city has already thrown two championship parades this year – the 76ers have played like a team that could add one more.
”We all got a taste of it with the Eagles, we all got a taste of it with Villanova’s tremendous win,” coach Brett Brown said. ”You feel it with the city from afar.”
He added: ”Everybody is excited to be a part of, what I think, is playing out to be a cool story.”
Embiid, who came to personify the Process, had his second consecutive double-double and tallied 56 points, 31 rebounds and nine blocks in just three playoff games. Embiid again played in a black mask to guard a face injury, and he’ll have plenty of time to rest and recover with the other Eastern Conference playoff series expected to stretch into the weekend.
”We feel like we’re unstoppable and we can get whatever we want to Stephon Gilmore Jersey ,” Embiid said. ”That’s the goal and we’re going to do what it takes to get there.”
Here’s what else to know about the 76ers in the postseason.
MEEK FREE
This was no run-of-the-mill Game 5 victory for the Sixers. Mill was there just hours after being released from prison.
He was brought by helicopter to Philadelphia, where he rang the ceremonial bell to start the game. Mill sat courtside next to Hart and Sixers co-owner Michael Rubin.
Rubin had organized prison trips with Embiid, Simmons and Markelle Fultz to support Mill, and the rapper’s songs played in the locker room and during warmups.
”When he was in jail, I went to visit him. He wasn’t feeling good. You could tell,” Embiid said. ”For him to come to this type of game … I was just happy.”
DY-NO-MITE!!!
The 76ers caused a few eyes to roll around the league when they signed free-agent guard JJ Redick to a $23 million, one-year deal in the offseason. Redick was coming off a solid four-year run with the Clippers, but even by NBA standards, the Sixers appeared to overpay for the 3-point ace. Redick has been worth every dollar, and he delivered again in Game 5. He made 5 of 10 3 pointers, all 10 free throws and scored a game-high 27 points.
It was the second time this postseason that Redick scored at least 27 points and the third time in his playoff career. He had consecutive 20-point games in the postseason for the first time in his career.
”We’ve changed our goals like four times,” Redick said. ”First, it was make the playoffs, then win 50 games, then getting home court, then getting the No. 3 seed.”
All four goals have been reached.
ROOKIE ROCKS IT
Simmons had 14 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the series. He is the first rookie to post at least four double-doubles in his first five postseason games since San Antonio’s Tim Duncan in 1997-98.
Simmons was a force against the Heat. He had 91 points, 53 rebounds and 45 assists in the series and showed why he’s the favorite to win the NBA rookie of the year.
”This is what I’m going to expect now,” Simmons said.
—
LeBron James laughed as he came around the backstage partition after arriving fashionably late for his crowded, post-practice news conference.
As he stepped onto the podium Larry Johnson Jersey , back among friendly faces and in the building where he has done some of his finest work, James seemed at ease, almost content. No signs of stress anywhere.
Moments later, his demeanor shifted.
A few reminders about his team’s urgent predicament against Golden State, questions about President Donald Trump and another review of Cleveland’s heartbreaking loss in Oakland swung his emotions.
”I know it feels like we’re down 2-0, and I don’t like the way I feel,” James said. ”I don’t like the mood that I’m in right now. There’s no, like, `OK, you’re down 2-0 and you feel better than when you’re down 2-0 before.’ When you’re down like this, in a deficit like this – versus a team like this – there’s no good feeling. So I don’t feel good about it.”
The Cavaliers may be in a dark place.
For the third time in the past four Finals, James and his teammates enter Game 3 against the Warriors in a win-or-make-summer-vacation-plans situation. After they wasted a 51-point effort by James – with a reversed official’s call, missed free throw by George Hill and bone-headed move from J.R. Smith – and let Game 1 slip away in overtime , and following Stephen Curry’s 3-point barrage in Game 2 , the Cavs are faced with the reality that their season, strange as it has been to this point, is in serious jeopardy.
However, coach Tyronn Lue, who plans to give disappointing forward Rodney Hood playing time on Wednesday night Will Hernandez Jersey , feels his team can change the complexion of this series.
”We’re very confident we can do that,” Lue said. ”The guys are engaged and locked in. Winning tomorrow is a step forward, but then going out with Game 4 also. We’re locked into doing that, and we know we can.
”We believe.”
It’s easy to understand Lue’s confidence. After what the Cavaliers have experienced this season, a 2-0 deficit in the Finals against a star-studded Warriors squad on the cusp of being stamped as a modern-day dynasty seems manageable.
Cleveland has endured injuries, trades, tragedy and drama for months. The Cavs, who climbed from a 2-0 hole to beat Boston in the conference finals, have major roster holes and unfixable flaws. There’s no denying their toughness.
”We’ve been very persistent and very resilient throughout this whole season, no matter what has been going on,” James said. ”We have an opportunity to come home and protect home, as Golden State has done. It’s a very tall task. A very tough challenge going against these guys, going against this team.”
Teams that have taken a 2-0 lead are 29-4 in the Finals, but the Warriors know better than to be overconfident. They’ve learned the hard way.
Golden State held a 3-1 lead in the 2016 Finals before the Cavs rallied to win three straight and dethrone the Dubs. And last year, the Warriors trailed by six with 3:09 left before storming back to win 118-113 in Game 3.
Cleveland has won eight straight playoff games at Quicken Loans Arena, which may be louder than ever with hometown fans still frothing from some calls that went against the Cavaliers in the Bay Area last week.
Just the sight of Warriors forward Draymond Green should be enough to push the decibel readings inside the building to unsafe levels.
”I don’t really think about being up 2-0 because the series could turn so fast,” Warriors star Kevin Durant said. ”It’s a great position to be in. I don’t want to take that for granted; don’t get me wrong. But the job is not done, and you can’t relax or be comfortable when you’re still trying to win this thing. We know coming on the road is going to be tougher.”
The Warriors may have Andre Iguodala back for the first time in the series.
One of the team’s best defenders, Iguodala has missed six straight games with a left knee injury suffered in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals. Coach Steve Kerr said the 34-year-old has improved.
”He’s getting closer Olivier Vernon Jersey , and I’m hopeful that he can play,” Kerr said. ”If not tomorrow, then in Game 4.”
While Kerr looked forward, James was forced to take another glance back at Game 1.
On Sunday, uncut TV footage showed James uncomfortably sitting on Cleveland’s bench next to Smith, who inexplicably dribbled out the final seconds of regulation. James was shown asking Lue if the team had any timeouts and then reacting as if he had been punched in the stomach when he learned the Cavs could have stopped the clock.
”Damn cameras,” James joked when asked about the video. ”I finally got Game 1 out of my head. You’re taking me back, huh?”
James, who is averaging 40 points, 10.5 assists and 8.5 rebounds in two games, abstains from social media during the postseason. He was unaware the video went viral or that he’s being criticized for not inspiring his teammates.
”Me being criticized? I don’t believe that,” he said sarcastically. ”I don’t care at all. I mean, we’re in the NBA Finals. How much more picking up of teammates do you want me to do?”
—
This story has been corrected to show that the Cavaliers won three, not four, straight games to win the NBA Finals in 2016.
Posted September 19, 2018 04:22 AM
Kevin Hart laughed as he tried to floss dance with a kid as they were both egged on by rapper Meek Mill. Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie awkwardly waved his arms around the way any 60-something-year-old man would attempting to look hip next to star entertainers.
This postseason potpourri of comic Mohamed Sanu Jersey , ex-con and champion unfolded on the sideline of another 76ers’ romp.
Mill, the Philadelphia-born rapper released from prison only hours earlier, snagged the Game 5 headlines.
Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and the rest of the Sixers stole the show.
Embiid and Simmons shined again in front of Mill, and the dominant duo ushered the nightmares-into-dreams Process of the Philadelphia 76ers into the second round with a 104-91 win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday night.
The 76ers, winners of 10 games just two seasons ago, are in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 2012. The Sixers won the series 4-1 and turned the Wells Fargo Center into the wildest house party in the city.
”I’ve been waiting for this moment,” Embiid said.
Embiid had 19 points and 12 rebounds, Simmons had 14 points and 10 boards, and the entire team was energized by Mill’s surprise appearance. Mill made a dramatic return hours after Pennsylvania’s highest court ordered him freed while he appeals decade-old gun and drug convictions.
They await the winner of Milwaukee-Boston. The Celtics lead the series 3-2.
The Sixers are the latest team to sweep up the city in a sports euphoria that hasn’t died down since the Eagles beat the New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl.
Look around the arena, and the champs were all around.
Lurie was in the house and so were a handful of Eagles. The national champion Villanova Wildcats were feted during the game. The Wildcats posed with Mill in the locker room and then stopped for selfies on the way to the court for a brief celebration. The city has already thrown two championship parades this year – the 76ers have played like a team that could add one more.
”We all got a taste of it with the Eagles, we all got a taste of it with Villanova’s tremendous win,” coach Brett Brown said. ”You feel it with the city from afar.”
He added: ”Everybody is excited to be a part of, what I think, is playing out to be a cool story.”
Embiid, who came to personify the Process, had his second consecutive double-double and tallied 56 points, 31 rebounds and nine blocks in just three playoff games. Embiid again played in a black mask to guard a face injury, and he’ll have plenty of time to rest and recover with the other Eastern Conference playoff series expected to stretch into the weekend.
”We feel like we’re unstoppable and we can get whatever we want to Stephon Gilmore Jersey ,” Embiid said. ”That’s the goal and we’re going to do what it takes to get there.”
Here’s what else to know about the 76ers in the postseason.
MEEK FREE
This was no run-of-the-mill Game 5 victory for the Sixers. Mill was there just hours after being released from prison.
He was brought by helicopter to Philadelphia, where he rang the ceremonial bell to start the game. Mill sat courtside next to Hart and Sixers co-owner Michael Rubin.
Rubin had organized prison trips with Embiid, Simmons and Markelle Fultz to support Mill, and the rapper’s songs played in the locker room and during warmups.
”When he was in jail, I went to visit him. He wasn’t feeling good. You could tell,” Embiid said. ”For him to come to this type of game … I was just happy.”
DY-NO-MITE!!!
The 76ers caused a few eyes to roll around the league when they signed free-agent guard JJ Redick to a $23 million, one-year deal in the offseason. Redick was coming off a solid four-year run with the Clippers, but even by NBA standards, the Sixers appeared to overpay for the 3-point ace. Redick has been worth every dollar, and he delivered again in Game 5. He made 5 of 10 3 pointers, all 10 free throws and scored a game-high 27 points.
It was the second time this postseason that Redick scored at least 27 points and the third time in his playoff career. He had consecutive 20-point games in the postseason for the first time in his career.
”We’ve changed our goals like four times,” Redick said. ”First, it was make the playoffs, then win 50 games, then getting home court, then getting the No. 3 seed.”
All four goals have been reached.
ROOKIE ROCKS IT
Simmons had 14 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the series. He is the first rookie to post at least four double-doubles in his first five postseason games since San Antonio’s Tim Duncan in 1997-98.
Simmons was a force against the Heat. He had 91 points, 53 rebounds and 45 assists in the series and showed why he’s the favorite to win the NBA rookie of the year.
”This is what I’m going to expect now,” Simmons said.
—
LeBron James laughed as he came around the backstage partition after arriving fashionably late for his crowded, post-practice news conference.
As he stepped onto the podium Larry Johnson Jersey , back among friendly faces and in the building where he has done some of his finest work, James seemed at ease, almost content. No signs of stress anywhere.
Moments later, his demeanor shifted.
A few reminders about his team’s urgent predicament against Golden State, questions about President Donald Trump and another review of Cleveland’s heartbreaking loss in Oakland swung his emotions.
”I know it feels like we’re down 2-0, and I don’t like the way I feel,” James said. ”I don’t like the mood that I’m in right now. There’s no, like, `OK, you’re down 2-0 and you feel better than when you’re down 2-0 before.’ When you’re down like this, in a deficit like this – versus a team like this – there’s no good feeling. So I don’t feel good about it.”
The Cavaliers may be in a dark place.
For the third time in the past four Finals, James and his teammates enter Game 3 against the Warriors in a win-or-make-summer-vacation-plans situation. After they wasted a 51-point effort by James – with a reversed official’s call, missed free throw by George Hill and bone-headed move from J.R. Smith – and let Game 1 slip away in overtime , and following Stephen Curry’s 3-point barrage in Game 2 , the Cavs are faced with the reality that their season, strange as it has been to this point, is in serious jeopardy.
However, coach Tyronn Lue, who plans to give disappointing forward Rodney Hood playing time on Wednesday night Will Hernandez Jersey , feels his team can change the complexion of this series.
”We’re very confident we can do that,” Lue said. ”The guys are engaged and locked in. Winning tomorrow is a step forward, but then going out with Game 4 also. We’re locked into doing that, and we know we can.
”We believe.”
It’s easy to understand Lue’s confidence. After what the Cavaliers have experienced this season, a 2-0 deficit in the Finals against a star-studded Warriors squad on the cusp of being stamped as a modern-day dynasty seems manageable.
Cleveland has endured injuries, trades, tragedy and drama for months. The Cavs, who climbed from a 2-0 hole to beat Boston in the conference finals, have major roster holes and unfixable flaws. There’s no denying their toughness.
”We’ve been very persistent and very resilient throughout this whole season, no matter what has been going on,” James said. ”We have an opportunity to come home and protect home, as Golden State has done. It’s a very tall task. A very tough challenge going against these guys, going against this team.”
Teams that have taken a 2-0 lead are 29-4 in the Finals, but the Warriors know better than to be overconfident. They’ve learned the hard way.
Golden State held a 3-1 lead in the 2016 Finals before the Cavs rallied to win three straight and dethrone the Dubs. And last year, the Warriors trailed by six with 3:09 left before storming back to win 118-113 in Game 3.
Cleveland has won eight straight playoff games at Quicken Loans Arena, which may be louder than ever with hometown fans still frothing from some calls that went against the Cavaliers in the Bay Area last week.
Just the sight of Warriors forward Draymond Green should be enough to push the decibel readings inside the building to unsafe levels.
”I don’t really think about being up 2-0 because the series could turn so fast,” Warriors star Kevin Durant said. ”It’s a great position to be in. I don’t want to take that for granted; don’t get me wrong. But the job is not done, and you can’t relax or be comfortable when you’re still trying to win this thing. We know coming on the road is going to be tougher.”
The Warriors may have Andre Iguodala back for the first time in the series.
One of the team’s best defenders, Iguodala has missed six straight games with a left knee injury suffered in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals. Coach Steve Kerr said the 34-year-old has improved.
”He’s getting closer Olivier Vernon Jersey , and I’m hopeful that he can play,” Kerr said. ”If not tomorrow, then in Game 4.”
While Kerr looked forward, James was forced to take another glance back at Game 1.
On Sunday, uncut TV footage showed James uncomfortably sitting on Cleveland’s bench next to Smith, who inexplicably dribbled out the final seconds of regulation. James was shown asking Lue if the team had any timeouts and then reacting as if he had been punched in the stomach when he learned the Cavs could have stopped the clock.
”Damn cameras,” James joked when asked about the video. ”I finally got Game 1 out of my head. You’re taking me back, huh?”
James, who is averaging 40 points, 10.5 assists and 8.5 rebounds in two games, abstains from social media during the postseason. He was unaware the video went viral or that he’s being criticized for not inspiring his teammates.
”Me being criticized? I don’t believe that,” he said sarcastically. ”I don’t care at all. I mean, we’re in the NBA Finals. How much more picking up of teammates do you want me to do?”
—
This story has been corrected to show that the Cavaliers won three, not four, straight games to win the NBA Finals in 2016.
—
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