Apr 13, 2019 4 min read

D’Angleo Russell flashed some postseason magic, playing like the All-Star leader Brooklyn needed with 26 points, and Caris LeVert scored 23 to lead the Nets to an impressive 111-102 win Saturday over the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.

The sixth-seeded Nets turned Philly in the city of 20,000 boos – and that’s just counting the ones echoing throughout the Wells Fargo Center – as they smoked a Sixers team that resembled one straight out of the early Process era.

Jimmy Butler scored 36 points and saved the Sixers, widely considered a favorite to at least reach the East semis, from losing by 25. Joel Embiid slogged his way through 24 forgettable minutes on his bum left knee. Ben Simmons was a postseason dud against Russell, his high school teammate.

Russell, LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie gave the Sixers fits off the dribble, buried open looks from 3-point range, and suddenly a team that got hot late just to make the playoffs has the upper-hand on the road over a 51-win team stocked with stars.

Russell, who scored 19 points in the second half, can safely scroll through his cell phone to see he’s trending.

Who knows what the Sixers used a phone for – benchwarmer Amir Johnson appeared to show Embiid a text when they sat on the bench and the Sixers down 16 in the fourth. Johnson slid the phone into his warmup pants pocket.

The Sixers sure phoned it in.

Poised for a postseason breakthrough, Russell flourished and hit a string of jumpers in the third that never let the Sixers seriously chip away at the lead. LeVert’s third 3 in the fourth made it a 16-point game and there was no looking back for one of the biggest wins since the Nets moved to Brooklyn. Russell raised his arms in celebration as he headed down the tunnel into Brooklyn’s locker room.

Orlando 104, Toronto 101: D.J. Augustin scored 25 points, including the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left, and the Orlando Magic beat the Toronto Raptors 104-101 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Kawhi Leonard got a final shot for Toronto, but missed the rim with his 3-pointer from the top.

Aaron Gordon had 10 points and 10 rebounds, Evan Fournier scored 16 points and Jonathan Isaac had 11 as the No. 7-seeded Magic became the latest team to beat Toronto in the opening game of a playoff series. The Raptors are 2-14 in playoff openers.

Leonard scored 25 points, Pascal Siakam had 24 and Fred VanVleet had 14 for the second-seeded Raptors, who reclaimed the lead after trailing by 16 points in the second quarter, but couldn’t hold on down the stretch.

Toronto got 13 points apiece from Danny Green and Marc Gasol, but guard Kyle Lowry finished scoreless, missing all seven of his attempts. Lowry did have eight assists and seven rebounds.

Source: Walton to coach Kings: Luke Walton will become coach of the Sacramento Kings, securing another NBA head coaching job just a day after parting ways with the Los Angeles Lakers following three losing seasons.

The 39-year-old Walton was dismissed by the Lakers on Friday after Los Angeles went 37-45. His move to the Kings was confirmed to the Associated Press on Saturday by a person who spoke on condition of anonymity because it hadn’t been finalized. A formal announcement from the Kings is expected in the next couple of days.

Sacramento general manager Vlade Divac fired Dave Joerger on Thursday after the coach helped develop the young Kings into playoff contenders before ultimately falling short in the franchise’s 13th straight losing season.