PHILADELPHIA — James Harden scored 31 points, Joel Embiid had 24 points and 11 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Miami Heat 116-108 on Sunday night in Game 4 to even the Eastern Conference semifinal series.
The Heat won the first two games in Miami with Embiid out because of a right orbital fracture and mild concussion. The 76ers won Games 3 and 4 at home with Embiid and his mask in the lineup.
Game 5 is Tuesday night in Miami.
The Heat got within five points before Harden sank his fifth 3-pointer of the game with three minutes left. Harden crushed the Heat on catch-and-shoot 3s and hit one clutch shot after another in the fourth.
He at last played in the postseason like the three-time scoring champion the Sixers needed when they traded for him in February.
Harden drilled a step-back 3 for a 114-103 lead that sent the crowd into a frenzy – and the Sixers off to Miami with new life.
Jimmy Butler scored 40 points and nearly one-man willed the Heat to victory. Miami missed 28 of 35 3-pointers.
MAVERICKS 111, SUNS 101: Luka Doncic tumbled toward the baseline after getting bumped by Chris Paul just before the halftime buzzer, the apprentice showing he has watched one of the masters at drawing fouls.
The trick spurred a critical fourth foul on Paul, setting up the Dallas Mavericks to get even in the Western Conference semifinals.
Doncic scored 26 points while helping Dallas take advantage of Paul’s foul trouble to tie the series at 2-2.
“I saw he was going for the rebound and I was surprised,” Doncic said. “He said to me, ‘Did I push you that hard?’ I said, ‘No, not that hard. But it was a smart play.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, I know.’”
Paul ended up being out of Game 4 early in the fourth quarter, when he often dominated the Mavericks during an 11-game winning streak that ended with consecutive home victories for Dallas.
Game 5 is Tuesday night in Phoenix.
Dorian Finney-Smith scored a playoff career-high 24 points, going 8 for 12 from 3-point range, including consecutive 3s for a 14-point lead midway through the fourth.
Dallas matched its 20 3s from a Mother’s Day rout of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2011 – a win that completed on a four-game sweep in the second round on the way to the championship. The Mavericks are playing beyond the first round for the first time since then.
Devin Booker scored 35 points for the top-seeded Suns, who dropped two straight on the road with a 2-0 lead just as they did in last year’s NBA finals. Milwaukee won four straight in that series to take the title.
“Last year was a learning experience for us,” Booker said. “We went to six games last year with the Lakers, six games with the Clippers, six with the Bucks, six with New Orleans (this year). We understand that it’s a series. It’s the playoffs for a reason.”
Turnovers by Paul were the story in Game 3. This time it was fouls, and it started when Coach Monty Williams put him back into the game with three fouls in the final minute of the first half.
Paul drove to try to score in the final seconds but left the shot short, then made the ill-fated decision to chase the rebound.
“I’ve got to look back at it,” Paul said. “I mean, I can’t put myself in the situation to give them that ability to do that. I’ve just got to look at myself and figure out how to do better.”
Just 2 1/2 minutes into the second half, Williams had no choice but to use his challenge when Paul stopped and backed into Jalen Brunson as Paul started bringing the ball up the court. The fifth foul was upheld on review.
The sixth foul also came against Brunson just a minute and a half after Paul had returned in the fourth. Paul finished with five points.
“Everybody’s got to take ownership, and it starts with me,” Williams said. “I made some decisions tonight that put us in a tough spot. Should have kept Chris out of the game, especially right before halftime. And then as a team, we’ve got take ownership as far as guarding the ball so we don’t have to help as much.”
Booker kept the Suns close into the fourth quarter despite long stretches without his backcourt mate, but Doncic eventually wore them down with post-ups and other drives for buckets or assists. He had 11 assists.
With the Suns down six midway through the fourth quarter, Doncic backed down the defense for a short bank shot, followed by Finney’s back-to-back 3s.
Then the lead was back down to eight when Doncic drove twice and kicked out to the 3-point line both times. Reggie Bullock hit the first and Brunson the second for a 105-95 lead with 2:52 remaining. Eight of Doncic’s 11 assists were on 3s.
“Luka told me when I had five 3s, he told me, ‘You’re about to get some more,’” said Finney-Smith, who finished one shy of the Dallas playoff record set by Jason Terry in the Mother’s Day rout of the Lakers. “When LD tells you you’re about to get some more 3s, I figured I was going to get some.”
NOTES
GRIZZLIES: Memphis guard Ja Morant is unlikely to play in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals against Golden State on Monday night after injuring his right knee on a play with Jordan Poole that the teams are debating from the Grizzlies’ 142-112 loss Saturday night.
Grizzlies Coach Taylor Jenkins said Sunday he doesn’t expect Morant to be available, with Memphis trailing the Warriors 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.
Morant, who limped off with 6:19 remaining in the game, was unable to do any basketball activity Sunday, Jenkins said.
Morant left Chase Center without speaking to reporters but posted and later deleted a video of the play on his Twitter feed with the words “broke the code,” a reference that Warriors Coach Steve Kerr used four days earlier when Dillon Brooks’ hard foul in Game 2 sidelined Gary Payton II and resulted in a one-game suspension for Brooks.
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