Caris LeVert added 23 points against Philadelphia, whose lackluster effort drew the wrath of its fans, and questions about text reading on the bench.
D’Angelo Russell flashed some postseason magic, playing like the All-Star leader the Nets needed with 26 points, and Caris LeVert scored 23 to lead the Nets to a 111-102 win on Saturday against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
Jimmy Butler scored 36 points and saved the Sixers, favored by many to at least reach the East semifinals, from losing by 25. Joel Embiid slogged his way through 24 forgettable minutes on a bum left knee. Ben Simmons came up small against Russell, his high school teammate, who scored 19 second-half points.
Russell, LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie gave the Sixers fits off the dribble, buried open looks from 3-point range, and a team that got hot late just to make the playoffs suddenly has the upper hand on the road over a 51-win team stocked with stars.
With Philadelphia behind by 16 in the fourth quarter, Amir Johnson appeared to show Embiid a text when they sat on the bench. Johnson then slid the phone into his warm-up pants pocket.
