The Sixers made their first big acquisition of the offseason on Friday, agreeing to a deal with Sam Hinkie to become president and general manager, according to a league source (see story).
That decision means the Sixers' front office is moving toward embracing the analytics wave in professional sports (see story).
Now let's look at Friday's NBA playoff action:
Heat battle past Bulls
CHICAGO -- LeBron James came on strong down the stretch to finish with 25 points, Chris Bosh added 20 points and 19 rebounds, and the Miami Heat followed up the most lopsided playoff win in franchise history with a 104-94 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Norris Cole scored 18, and the Heat pulled out a tight win after blasting the Bulls 115-78 on Wednesday.
This time, Chicago refused to go quietly. Never mind that the Bulls were coming off the worst playoff loss in franchise history. Put aside the fact that the ailing Luol Deng and injured Kirk Hinrich (calf) remained sidelined, not to mention Derrick Rose, or that Nazr Mohammed got ejected in the second quarter for shoving James to the floor.
The Heat simply had too much in the end.
NBA
James hit just 6 of 17 shots and even got blocked on a layup by Nate Robinson in the third quarter. But the four-time MVP came through down the stretch, scoring 12 in the fourth (see full recap).
-The Associated Press
Vets lead Spurs to 2-1 series lead
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Tony Parker scored 25 of his 32 points in a sizzling first half, Tim Duncan added 23 points and 10 rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs quieted the hot-shooting Golden State Warriors in a 102-92 victory Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
Kawhi Leonard finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, and Parker added five assists and five boards to help the Spurs wrestle back home-court advantage from the Warriors after withstanding a brief fourth-quarter rally.
San Antonio outshot Golden State 50.6 to 39.3 percent and curbed streaky shooters Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson for the first time in the series.
Thompson scored 17 points on 7-of-20 shooting, while Curry had 16 points on 5 of 17 from the floor. Andrew Bogut added 11 points and 12 rebounds for Golden State but was saddled with foul trouble most of the second half (see full recap).
-The Associated Press