NBA Playoff Recap: May 31, 2021

It’s to examine the keys to how last night’s Memorial Day doubleheader unfolded.

Washington Wizards 122, Philadelphia 76ers 114

76ers lead series 3-1

FINAL BOX SCORE

Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid left the game, under his own power, late in the first quarter and never returned. That vastly changed the complexion of this game. With him, the Sixers were likely well on their way to winning this game and closing out this series. Without him, they were figuring out on the fly how to compete without their best player.

Embiid’s absence allowed Washington’s bigs to feast on the interior. Daniel Gafford, getting his first career playoff start, had a solid night of protecting the paint and catching some nifty lobs. He came away with 12 points and five blocks. His backup Robin Lopez, along with his tornado hook shot, finished the game with 16 points and two rejections.

The lack of Embiid was most apparent in the second quarter. Washington shut out Philadelphia in paint points (18-0), fast break points (9-0), second chance points (4-0), and points off turnovers (4-0) in that period. The Sixers ended the evening with 40 total points in the paint, their fewest of the series.

Russell Westbrook struggled offensively, as he ended the night 3-of-19 from the field. However, he remained highly involved in almost every other aspect of the game. Westbrook went 13-of-16 from the free throw line, grabbed 21 rebounds, doled out 14 assists, and swiped two steals.

Bradley Beal didn’t have a pretty game either, giving up seven turnovers and picking up four fouls. Still, he managed to be enough of an offensive catalyst to notch a game-high 27 points despite going 9-of-23 (39.1 percent) from the field.

Philadelphia as a whole struggled to find their shot, going 41.7 percent from the field. This was true even when Embiid was playing. He went 2-of-6 before leaving the game. When he went out, it was even tougher to fill that void. Tobias Harris, the most likely candidate to do so, had 21 points, but got it on 8-of-24 (33.3 percent) shooting. The normally precise sharpshooter Seth Curry went 0-of-4 from 3-point range.

Ben Simmons, Philly’s third-leading scorer during the regular season, took just five field goal attempts, making four of them. His 5-of-11 performance from the line was a step up for him, as he went 0-of-9 he during the first three games of this series. Unfortunately, he still left points on the table, and Philadelphia failed to secure the series-clinching victory.

Utah Jazz 120, Memphis Grizzlies 113

Jazz lead series 3-1

FINAL BOX SCORE

Utah prevailed once again in this series of contrasting styles. The Grizzlies won the paint battle for the fourth consecutive time in the series, outscoring the Jazz 64-40. However, Utah outscored them 51-30 from three-point range and 25-17 from the line. This dichotomy is truly what intrigues me most about this series, and I will continue to bring it up as long as the difference is this vast.

The Grizzlies almost came away with this game, though. Entering the fourth quarter down 100-87, guard De’Anthony Melton went on a scoring tear! He dropped 15 points in the final frame. Meanwhile, Utah struggled with their shot, missing their first nine field goals of the period. However, a few opportune 3-pointers by Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic and an 11-of-12 performance from the line allowed Utah to pull through and get the win.

Utah now heads back to Salt Lake City a win away from advancing to the next round. If their shot from distance and the charity stripe stays true, it shouldn’t be a problem. However, Memphis has shown that they definitely aren’t an easy out.