76ers: ???
Pregame notes
The Wizards will travel to Philadelphia for Game 1 of the first round playoff series against the 76ers. Washington is coming off a 142-115 win against the Pacers on Thursday evening to clinch the No. 8 seed in the league new play-in tournament.
The Wizards couldn’t beat the 76ers during the regular season
Washington opened their regular season with a loss against the 76ers back in December and couldn’t pull off wins in the two meetings that followed. Their first two losses weren’t decided by a lot of points but their final regular-season matchup on March 12 resulted in a 26-point blowout. It’s been said that the postseason is a “new season” so expect the Wizards to take that approach Sunday.
Hot Wizards ready to challenge top-seeded 76ers
Field Level Media
23 May 2021, 03:40 GMT+10
The top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers are hoping an entire season s worth of momentum will be enough to send home a Washington Wizards team that used its own late-season momentum just to reach the playoffs.
The two teams tip off their Eastern Conference first-round series as the Sixers host eighth-seeded Washington in Game 1 of their best-of-series Sunday afternoon.
The 76ers finished the regular season with a 49-23 record and spent the majority of the campaign atop the East standings 93 days in total and 24 of the final 35 days of the regular season and fended off the Brooklyn Nets down the stretch.
Wizards complete turnaround with rout of Pacers to clinch No 8 seed in Eastern Conference yahoo.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from yahoo.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
May 20, 2021
WASHINGTON (AP) Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal did what they do a near triple-double for one, 25 points in just 29 minutes for the other and the Washington Wizards reached the NBA playoffs as the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 seed by overwhelming the Indiana Pacers 142-115 in the play-in round Thursday night.
Washington led by as many as 38 points and advanced to face Joel Embiid and the No. 1 seed Philadelphia 76ers in the first round, marking quite a turnaround for coach Scott Brooks’s crew, which was 17-32 in early April.
Indiana’s run of five consecutive playoff appearances ended in coach Nate Bjorkgren’s debut season.
Pacers vs. Wizards: Play-in game thread, lineups, TV info and more
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Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
The Pacers have one last shot at beating the Washington Wizards and this time the stakes are do-or-die for both teams with the winner advancing to the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Ealier in the month, the Wiz ran all over the Pacers in D.C. and then rallied to beat the Pacers in overtime at the Fieldhouse. Russell Westbrook was a monster in both games and Bradley Beal tossed in a casual 50 points at BLF before tweaking a hammy and leaving early.