NBA playoffs dispatches: Sixers sweep, Clippers fall to 3-1

FOX Sports writers are providing takeaways from games throughout the NBA playoffs. Here are their thoughts from Saturday.

Sixers 96, Nets 88: No Embiid, no problem?

Joel Embiid’s Most Valuable Player worthiness took a hit Saturday. With ballots already submitted and the proof being the way the Philadelphia 76ers ended the Brooklyn Nets‘ season without him, it’s fairly certain neither he nor any other 76er cared.

Embiid now should have ample time to recover from the sprained knee that kept him out of the 96-88 win at the Barclays Center that completed a first-round four-game sweep of the Nets. The Sixers will face the winner of the Boston Celtics–Atlanta Hawks‘ series next and the Hawks’ win Friday night assures that series won’t end before Tuesday at the earliest.

It looked as if the Nets were prepared to take full advantage of Embiid’s absence at the start, jumping out to a 19-8 lead off a combination of dunks and uncontested 3-pointers generated off drives to the rim. Nets center Nic Claxton, ejected early in the fourth quarter of the Nets’ Game 3 loss after drawing his second technical foul for taunting Embiid, seemed particularly energized, getting 7 of his 19 points and five of his 12 rebounds in the first 9 1/2 minutes.

Claxton also had four blocked shots, but even without Embiid the 76ers had a size and strength advantage. The Nets were essentially Claxton surrounded by a rotation of wings while Sixers coach Doc Rivers went with center Paul Reed and forwards Tobias Harris and PJ Tucker. Claxton couldn’t discourage the 6’8″ Harris from utilizing his height and strength advantage over 6’5″ guard Spencer Dinwiddie. The Sixers repeatedly created that matchup and Harris repeatedly bumped his way into the paint and dropped in mid-range jumpers over Dinwiddie down the stretch. Harris had a team-leading 25 points, including eight in the fourth quarter.

The Nets tried to extend the series with transition 3-pointers and isolation drives, an offensive approach resembling the one they employed when Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irvingwere still with them. Perhaps not surprisingly, it wasn’t as effective with Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and Dinwiddie employing it. The sequence that seemed to seal the Nets’ fate came midway through the fourth quarter. Johnson, Bridges and Dinwiddie all took turns launching forays at the rim or transition 3s. The result: five straight misses. After Harris exploited Dinwiddie once again with a turnaround jumper, the Sixers’ lead was nine and the Nets’ collective shoulders dropped.

Maybe the most disappointing aspect of the loss is that the Nets weren’t out-executed as much as out-worked, especially down the stretch with the outcome still in the balance. De’Anthony Melton scored all 15 of his points in the fourth quarter, 10 of them off second-chance opportunities.

GM Sean Marks now begins an offseason with a roster — and expectations — dramatically different than what he had at the start of the season. The bulk of the roster is already signed through next season, which means any improvement would have to be made via trade. After all the ones he unexpectedly had to make this season — and the drama that came with them — he might just welcome the status quo.

— Ric Bucher

Suns 112, Clippers 100: Kawhi-less Clippers in danger

Shortly after the buzzer sounded, Kawhi Leonard walked out of Crypto.com Arena wearing street clothes and a stoic look on his face.

After Leonard missed his second straight game Saturday because of a sprained right knee, the LA Clippers are now on the brink of elimination following a 112-100 loss to the Phoenix Suns in Game 4 of their first round series.

It’s a tough break for Leonard, who missed all of last season after suffering a torn right ACL during the 2021 Western Conference semifinals. His teammates expressed how disappointed they were for him after Game 3. After Game 4, Suns superstar Kevin Durant joined the chorus.

“I’m more disappointed that Kawhi is injured again, more so than the [competitiveness of the] matchup,” said Durant, who had a team-high 31 points and 11 rebounds. “Obviously, that’s always fun to play against an all-time great. I don’t know Kawhi that well, but he seems like he loves the game. He loves to play. He just loves to hoop on this stage, especially around the playoffs. I’m more disappointed for him that he’s not out there doing something he loves.”

Even without Leonard and Paul George (sprained right knee), the Clippers fought tooth and nail against one of the most talented teams in the league. They were within two points of the Suns with about 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter, before Chris Paul exploded with 12 points in the final period and his team outrebounded the Clippers 13-4 to put the game away.

In the absence of the Clippers’ superstars, Russell Westbrook had perhaps his greatest game of the season, continuing his redemption tour with a 37-point performance on 58.6% shooting from the field and 50% shooting from beyond the arc. This season has been a wild ride for Westbrook, who went from looking lost with the Los Angeles Lakers to now becoming one of the Clippers’ greatest hopes for salvation.

Westbrook vowed to try to be better next game.

“When I watch film, always, I’m so hard on myself,” he said. “I’m figuring out ways to be better, not just being more efficient, taking care of the ball, defending better, not giving up on plays. I’m a guy that I really strive myself on doing everything at an elite level. So, when I watch tonight, maybe I could’ve done something better.”

Now the Clippers are staring down a 3-1 series hole, with their superstars’ statuses in jeopardy, and Game 5 in Phoenix.

Yet another season that began with championship hopes could be on the verge of screeching to a bitter end.

— Melissa Rohlin

Heat 121, Bucks 99: Heat win comes with a loss

The eighth-seeded Miami Heat now enjoy a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven first-round series with the NBA’s winningest team this season, the Milwaukee Bucks. If they’re not completely giddy about their unexpected success, it’s for good reason.

They paid a mighty price for it.

Already missing their shooting guard Tyler Herro to a broken hand sustained in the first game of the series, the Heat saw their leader, Jimmy Butler, head to the locker room near the end of the third quarter after a couple of spills left him hobbling and clutching at his lower back. Then, with just under four minutes left, Herro’s replacement in the starting lineup, Victor Oladipo, went down awkwardly on a straight line drive and had to be helped to the locker room.

Butler returned to the bench for the fourth quarter but not the floor, most likely because he was not needed. The Heat took a 15-point lead into the fourth quarter and never let it shrink below 13 on their way to a resounding 121-99 win.

The Bucks, of course, were missing their leader and best player for the second game in a row, Giannis Antetokounmpo, who hasn’t played since landing on his back 10 minutes into the first game of the series. That Antetokounmpo was unavailable Saturday night came as a bit of surprise to the Bucks’ organization, according to reports, but it was only the first of many unexpected events sprung on them.

Let’s start with the Heat lighting up the scoreboard from beyond the 3-point arc. The fourth-worst 3-point shooting team in the league during the regular season made 12 of 19 in the first half, the most threes they’ve made in one half in franchise playoff history. Even more shocking was who did the damage for them. Butler, a 35% 3-point shooter who averages less than two attempts per game in the regular season, was 3-for-3. Duncan Robinson also went 3-for-3, and while Robinson’s primary role is shooting from long range and he has shot well in this series overall, this is by far the most effective he’s been since his performance in the Orlando bubble in 2020, which earned him the five-year, $90 million contract that he has struggled to justify.

Yet another surprise: the Heat’s dominance on the boards and who contributed. Caleb Martin, a career 3.7 per game rebounder, had 11, matching Bam Adebayo for the team lead and 34-year-old Kevin Love chipped in seven.

Here’s one last eye-opener: the small-ball Heat outscored the Bucks, 48-36, in the paint.

Game 4 is Monday in Miami. The availability of Antetokounmpo or Butler is uncertain as of right now. If the Bucks learned a lesson from Game 3, it’s that they should be prepared for anything.

— Ric Bucher

Ric Bucher is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. He previously wrote for Bleacher Report, ESPN The Magazine and The Washington Post and has written two books, “Rebound,” on NBA forward Brian Grant’s battle with young onset Parkinson’s, and “Yao: A Life In Two Worlds.” He also has a daily podcast, “On The Ball with Ric Bucher.” Follow him on Twitter @RicBucher.

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.