Philadelphia 76ers and Dallas Mavericks became the latest two teams to reach the NBA conference semifinal lineups.
Joel Embiid had another brilliant game with 33 points and 10 rebounds and James Harden came alive to add 22 and 15 assists as the 76ers finished off the Toronto Raptors 132-97 in Game 6 to end their first-round series.
Philly’s supporting cast had a brilliant night as well with Tyrese Maxey adding 25 points, going 5 for 12 from 3-point range, and Tobias Harris scoring 19 points and 11 rebounds to help in a blowout win.
Having won the previous two games on the trot, the Raptors were high on confidence but missed their All-Star guard Fred VanVleet who missed his second game with a hip flexor injury.
Chris Boucher had 25 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto, Pascal Siakam fouled out with 24 points, Gary Trent Jr. had 19, and Scottie Barnes 18.
The game was still close in the third as the Raptors trailed 70-67 after Siakam made a hook shot with 9:42 left in the third.
But Maxey’s three 3-pointers broke the game open with a 17-0 run for the 76ers who were out of sight with an 87-67 lead with 5:20 left in the quarter. Philadelphia took a 99-78 lead to the fourth and then never looked back.
Toronto lost in the first round for the first time since being swept by Washington in 2015.
The 76ers will now have to contend with the top-seeded Miami Heat for a chance and the Eastern Conference championship.
In the Western Conference, Dallas Mavericks closed out the Utah Jazz 98-96 in six games to reach the Western Conference semifinals.
Luka Doncic earned his first NBA postseason win by scoring 24 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, two blocks, and two steals.
He was supplemented well by Jalen Brunson with 24 points, Spencer Dinwiddie added 19 points, and Dorian Finney-Smith had 18.
Donovan Mitchell had 23 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds for Utah with Bojan Bogdanovic finishing with 19.
Down 98-96, Bogdanovic got a good look on the left-wing, but he came up short.
The Mavericks will now face-top-seeded Phoenix in the second round.
It is their first first-round win since winning the 2011 NBA championship.
