Philadelphia (USA), May 14 (EFE) .- The wait came to an end for the Philadelphia Sixers who had in guard Seth Curry and Cameroonian center Joel Embiid the players who gave them the necessary points to guide them to the a 122-97 win and assure them the best record in the Eastern Conference when the regular season concludes.
The achievement will allow the Sixers to have the field advantage for as long as they remain in the playoff competition, where they will seek to achieve the greater objective that will be to take the title and play the NBA Finals.
Curry scored 20 points, Embiid finished with a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds that gave the Magic no chance to fight for the win.
Australian point guard Ben Simmons added 13 points and nine assists to help the 76ers put their overall record at 48-23.
Embiid showed the advantage that has made him arguably Philadelphia’s most beloved athlete when he picked up a technique for a confrontation with Shane Bacon with 3:16 left in the period.
Philadelphia fans shouted “MVP!” “MVP!” Which will be higher in the postseason, as the city announced this week that Wells Fargo Center, home to the Sixers, may be 50 percent full when the playoffs begin.
Embiid, Simmons and the rest of the Philadelphia starters relaxed on the bench in the fourth quarter with the 76ers in a big way.
Lithuanian Canadian forward Ignas Brazdeikis scored 21 points as the leader of the Magic, who lost the sixth straight game and have the second-worst record (21-50) in the Eastern Conference.
The Sixers last claimed the top spot in the Eastern Conference in 2001 when Allen Iverson won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, Larry Brown as Coach of the Year and guard Aaron McKie as Sixth Man.
That team reached the NBA Finals before losing to Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and the Lakers in five games.
Philadelphia hasn’t even reached the conference finals during the recent stretch, and last year’s first-round playoff exit cost former coach Brett Brown his job.
Now, coach Doc Rivers, in his first year at the helm, and general manager Daryl Morey, who dumped the Houston Rockets, will try to help bring Philadelphia its first championship since 1983.
The Sixers will begin that search on May 22 and will have the home-court advantage as long as they remain alive in the East.
The first round series will start against the eighth classified, which will start from the winner of the third match of the play-in tournament that the loser of the initial match between the seventh and eighth classified against the winner of the ninth and tenth classified.
Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, and Indiana Pacers and Washington Wizards are the four teams that must decide the seventh and eighth places in the Eastern Conference.
(c) EFE Agency