76ers complete sweep of Nets with dominant second half

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Tobias Harris had 25 points and 12 rebounds, and the Philadelphia 76ers overcame the absence of Joel Embiid to beat the Brooklyn Nets 96-88 Saturday, completing a sweep that made them the first team to reach the second round of the playoffs.

James Harden added 17 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for the third-seeded 76ers, who will wait for the winner of the series between the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks. The defending Eastern Conference champion Celtics have a 2-1 lead in that series.

The 76ers hope Embiid will be recovered from his sprained right knee in time for the start of the next series. The MVP finalist and two-time NBA scoring champion was ruled out Friday night, and the 76ers struggled to score without him.

So they turned to their defense and ended up outscoring the Nets 21-4 during a stretch of more than eight minutes in the third quarter.

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James Harden of the Philadelphia 76ers dribbles the ball against the Brooklyn Nets during Game 4 of the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs April 22, 2023, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

Tyrese Maxey finished a strong series with 16 points, and Paul Reed added 10 points and 15 rebounds after replacing Embiid in the starting lineup.

Spencer Dinwiddie scored 20 points, and Nic Claxton had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Nets, who were swept for the second straight year and have lost 10 straight postseason games. They went 0-8 this season against the 76ers.

Embiid went to the locker room early in Game 3 and was limping a couple times later in the game, but he had a blocked shot to