NBA/NHL Roundup: Sixers’ Simmons Erupts; Pelicans Advance

Miami — Ben Simmons had the first playoff triple-double by a rookie in nearly 40 years, JJ Redick scored 24 points and the Philadelphia 76ers outlasted the Miami Heat, 106-102, on Saturday to move within a victory of the second round.

The 76ers lead the Eastern Conference series 3-1 and can close out the Heat when play resumes in Philadelphia on Tuesday night.

Simmons became the first rookie since Magic Johnson in 1980 to post a playoff triple-double — 17 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists. Joel Embiid finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for Philadelphia.

Dwyane Wade led all scorers with 25 points off the bench for the Heat, who led by 12 points in the second half before letting a game they almost certainly had to have slip away. Wade carried the comeback effort, with the Heat down six and less than 2 minutes left. His three-point play cut the margin in half and his next two field goals got Miami within one each time. The Heat got no closer.

Pelicans 131, Trail Blazers 123

New Orleans — Anthony Davis scored 33 of his franchise playoff-record 47 points in the second half, and New Orleans completed a first-round playoff sweep of Portland.

Jrue Holiday capped his 41-point performance with an 18-foot pull-up jumper that gave the Pelicans a six-point lead with 40 seconds left.

Rajon Rondo added 16 assists, and Davis also had 11 rebounds and three blocks for New Orleans, which is moving on to the second round of the playoffs for only the second time since the NBA returned to the city 16 seasons ago.

Timberwolves 121, Rockets 105

Minneapolis — Jimmy Butler hit four 3-pointers among his 28 points and Karl-Anthony Towns snapped back from a bad start to the series with 18 points and 16 rebounds, leading Minnesota past Houston for its first postseason victory in 14 years.

Jeff Teague scored 23 points and Andrew Wiggins pitched in 20 points with another four 3-pointers, helping the Timberwolves match the fire-away Rockets from behind the arc and cruise down the stretch behind a 50 percent shooting performance.

Saturday’s NHL Playoffs

Capitals 4, Blue Jackets 3 (ot)

Washington — Nicklas Backstrom scored his second goal of the game 11:53 into overtime to give Washington at win over Columbus and a 3-2 lead in the first-round playoff series.

Braden Holtby made 16 of his 39 saves in the third period to help Washington get to overtime. Four of five games between the teams have gone past regulation making fatigue a factor for Game 6 Monday night in Columbus.

Evgeny Kuznetsov and T.J. Oshie scored along with Backstrom in regulation for the Capitals, who became the first home team this series to win a home game.

Lightning 3, Devils 1

Tampa, Fla. — Nikita Kucherov scored his 27th career postseason goal, Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 26 shots and Tampa Bay beat New Jersey to end the first-round series in five games.

The 19-year-old Mikhail Sergachev became the youngest player in Lightning history to score a playoff goal and Ryan Callahan, back in the lineup after missing the previous two games with an upper-body injury, sealed it with an empty-netter with 1.7 seconds remaining.

Tampa Bay advanced to a second-round series against the Boston-Toronto winner.

Kyle Palmieri scored for the Devils.