Wednesday's NBA play-in round produced two decisive winners as Golden State and Philadelphia moved a step closer to the postseason.
76ers 109, Magic 97 Philadelphia advanced to face the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics on Sunday after beating Orlando 109-97. The 76ers were playing without Joel Embiid, who underwent emergency surgery for appendicitis. Tyrese Maxey carried the offense with 31 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter to help close the game. Rookie VJ Edgecombe finished with a double-double (19 points, 11 rebounds), and Kelly Oubre Jr. contributed 19 points as well. Orlando’s offense struggled beyond Desmond Bane, who was the lone consistent scorer for the Magic with 34 points on 10-of-16 shooting. The Magic will get another chance at the playoffs Friday when they face the Charlotte Hornets for the No. 8 seed; Charlotte advanced by defeating Miami 127-126 in overtime on Tuesday.
Warriors 126, Clippers 121 Golden State rallied in the late game to defeat the LA Clippers 126-121, eliminating LA from postseason contention. Stephen Curry poured in 35 points, with a dominant second half—27 of those points—on 12-of-23 shooting. Gui Santos and Kristaps Porzingis each added 20 poi
