Joel Embiid answered questions about whether the Sixers were a better team without him last night.

They’re not.

In his masked return, the center was a little rusty, but he led a fourth quarter close-out with 23 points, four assists, and seven rebounds in a 128-108 win to give the Sixers a 2-1 series lead.

Some Heat players tried to stop Embiid and his terror by breaking his crazy mask. But The Process had the last laugh:

“It was just about I think Justise [Winslow] stepped on it, and tried to break it with his hands. Little did they know I have about 50 of them, so it’s going to take much more than that to get me out of the series. I’m going to be a nightmare for them too.”

The Embiid beef with Hassan Whiteside was fun to watch in the regular season. Now, Justise Winslow might be starting a beef with the center:

Marco Belinelli and Dario Saric each had very impressive games, scoring 21 points each and hitting four 3s. Ben Simmons had a double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds along with seven assists.

We also saw a new wrinkle from Brett Brown in the form of Justin Anderson. He played some very tough defense, especially against Dwyane Wade in the second quarter. That began the physicality and chippiness that would last throughout the game.

Goran Dragic scored 23 points to lead the Heat, while Dwyane Wade was much quieter with eight points, his fewest this series.

Game 4 is tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 PM on NBC Sports Philadelphia and TNT. We’ll see what new challenge it will bring to the Sixers.

But Kevin Hart did get his message through in South Beach:

The Roundup:


Start your weekend off with the latest episode of the Crossing Broadcast.


Jake Arrieta had a very good night on the mound for the Phillies.

He had 10 strikeouts and gave up one hit in seven innings of work as the Phils shut out the Pirates 7-0 to open up a 10-game homestand.

Cesar Hernandez hit a three-run single in the bottom of the second. It was also the first time that happened in 40 years:

Those powder blue throwbacks are beautiful.

Odubel Herrera had a pair of RBIs and Rhys Hoskins hit his third homer of the season.

The two teams will play this weekend beginning tonight with Ben Lively taking the mound against Ivan Nova at 7:05 PM on NBC Sports Philadelphia + and MLB Network. Aaron Nola and Nick Pivetta will counter the next two games.


The complete Eagles regular season schedule is out! That includes the season opener at home against Atlanta and a matchup with Jacksonville in London.

There’s plenty of pros and cons about it.

GM Howie Roseman said the 32nd overall pick is up for sale, if the price is right.

“I would say overall we’re open for business,” said Roseman. “We’re open for business in every round if it’s something that we think makes sense for our team, we’re going to do it. But at the same time, we’re ready to pick. We have 32 guys we feel really good about. We can’t operate under the assumption that we’re going to bail out, so we’re ready to roll.”

They probably won’t take a safety if they stay at 32, but they could pick one up in later rounds.

If the Eagles have a Day 2 selection, they’ll have former kicker David Akers announce the pick.

The Eagles also dropped their self-produced documentary of the 2017 Super Bowl winning season.


After Wednesday night’s embarrassing Game 4, the Flyers are on the brink of elimination as they take on Pittsburgh tonight on NBC Sports Philadelphia and NBCSN.

Sean Couturier didn’t practice yesterday, but he will travel to Pittsburgh and is a game-time decision. He said he’s feeling a lot better since taking a hit from Radko Gudas in practice. Robert Hagg will also replace Travis Sanheim on the blue line.

Take a listen to the latest Snow the Goalie before the Flyers embarrass themselves again or hold their own. If they do hold their own, Game 6 would be Sunday. Claude Giroux thinks that will happen.


Donte DiVincenzo will enter the NBA Draft but will not hire an agent. He’s the second Nova player to enter this week, joining Omari Spellman.


In other sports news, the Pelicans and Warriors each had easy Game 3s to take 3-0 series leads.

In the Stanley Cup playoffs, Boston defeated Toronto to give the Bruins a 3-1 series lead, while Washington took care of Columbus to tie their series at two games each.

We had a triple play in Seattle, and it was weird:

WENGER OUT! Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will step down at the end of the squad’s season. He’s been their manager for 22 years.


In the news, passengers on the Southwest flight that had to land in Philly this past week got a $5,000 check and a $1,000 travel voucher.

You can get free McDonald’s fries today and next Friday.

Today is 4/20, which is also a national holiday for marijuana user. In more important news, Super Troopers 2 comes out. Farva’s back.