76ers overcome Embiid's absence to beat Nets for 1st series sweep since 1991

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

It's the 76ers' first series sweep since 1991.

The 76ers hope Embiid will be recover 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 defence, and ended up outscoring the Nets 21-4 during a stretch of more than eight minutes in the third quarter.

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 post-season games. They went 0-8 this season against the 76ers.

Dorian Finney-Smith's three-pointer two minutes into the third quarter made it 53-42, matching the Nets' largest lead of the game. But Harden and P.J. Tucker hit consecutive threes to get the Sixers started on what became a 14-0 run that made it 56-53 on Reed's basket.

Maxey's three-pointer extended it to 63-57 with 1:49 remaining in the period, capping the Nets' lengthy drought that would have seemed unimaginable when Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were in Brooklyn.

They were both dealt at midseason, and this team went down just as quickly as the one they led last season, when Brooklyn was also the first team eliminated after getting swept by Boston.

Embiid averaged only 20 points in the series,