Philadelphia, Phoenix and Dallas in semi-finals

Philadelphia, winner in Toronto, made an appointment with Miami in the Eastern Conference semi-finals of the NBA play-offs, as did Phoenix, guided by a Chris Paul in record mode in New Orleans, and Dallas, scorer of Utah, who will end up in the last four in the West.

The fear in the stomach of finding themselves back against the wall, the Sixers? Nay, it was on the contrary with the bit in their teeth that they completed their series, chasing the shadow of a doubt which hovered over their ability to finish the job, after having led 3-0 then left the Raptors back to 3-2. However, to date, never a team having won the first three matches has then lost the next four. Philly, by not letting Toronto equalize, therefore avoided a game-breaker and this potential pitfall. What reassure Doc Rivers, appeared annoyed in recent hours when we came to remind him of his liabilities in this area, since he is the only coach to have experienced three eliminations after leading 3-1. The mobilization was collective, in the wake of Joël Embiid. The strongman of the Sixers, who has suffered from a torn ligament since Game 3 and appeared diminished in the next two, was once again dominant inside (33 pts, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks). But the Cameroonian pivot added a sore to his list, since he took an elbow above the right eye by his compatriot Pascal Siakam (24 pts, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 interceptions). A slight cut without too much damage. Another reason for satisfaction for the 76ers, the solid performance of James Harden (22 pts, 15 assists) who heard Embiid’s call for him to play more aggressively. Tyrese Maxey also contributed greatly (25 pts, 8 assists). All these ingredients will be needed in Philadelphia against Miami (finalist in 2020), guided by Jimmy Butler.

Mission accomplished also for Phoenix. The best team of the regular season had the last laugh – also in six games – against the Pelicans, and it was the inevitable Chris Paul who spoke it. Master of money time during the regular season, to tip the matches in favor of the Suns when they were tight, Paul once again demonstrated his know-how, scoring 10 of his 33 points in this period, to finish with a perfect 100% at shots (14/14) and 8 assists. Before him, no player had ever scored so many baskets without missing one in the play-offs. Devin Booker, back after three games away due to a contracture at

the right hamstring, struggled to find the right rhythm (13 pts, at 5/12). But his teammates were outstanding, with overall skill hitting 60%. The Pelicans were not unworthy, like Brandon Ingram (21 pts, 11 rebounds), without however being able to build on their lead of ten lengths at the break. Enough to make their coach Willie Green shed a tear of emotion, consoled afterwards by his counterpart Monty Williams, whose assistant he was last year.

The Phoenix Suns will face the Dallas Mavericks, winners at Utah Jazz and who finally pass the 1st round for the first time since 2011, the year of their only title. And it didn’t come down to much, in this case a walk from Mike Conley, whose shoe moved too much on braking, to spoil a crucial possession, followed by a failed attempt behind the arc of Bojan Bogdanovic. One too many, since the Jazz, abusing the exercise, shot 25.7% at long distance. What still frustrate Rudy Gobert. The Frenchman, who was able to play despite having been stung in the nose by a bee from his hive, was still underused (10 pts, at 3/6, 12 rebounds). The Mavericks were more skilful, since led by 12 units at the break (53-41), they rained down the award-winning banderillas (8/12) in the only 3rd quarter to reverse the situation (77-72). And to hold the score until the end, in the wake of Luka Doncic (24 pts, 9 assists, 8 rebounds) passing the bar of 500 points in the play-offs in 16 matches. Only Michael Jordan has done better, in 14 games.

Here are the results of the matches of the 1st round of the NBA play-offs played on Thursday evening (yesterday Friday morning in Lebanon; each series is played in the best of seven matches, the first team with four wins being qualified for the next round) :

Eastern Conference

Philadelphia 76ers-Toronto Raptors

Philadelphia qualified for the

semi-finals (4-2).

Western Conference

Phoenix Suns-New Orleans Pelicans

Phoenix qualified for the semi-finals (4-2).

Dallas Mavericks-Utah Jazz

Dallas qualified for the semi-finals (4-2).

Source: AFP

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Philadelphia, winner in Toronto, made an appointment with Miami in the Eastern Conference semi-finals of the NBA play-offs, as did Phoenix, guided by a Chris Paul in record mode in New Orleans, and Dallas, scorer of Utah, who will end up in the last four in the West. The fear in the stomach of finding themselves back against the wall, the Sixers? Nay, it’s on the contrary with the bit with…