LOS ANGELES – Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers has proclaimed the “Most Valuable Player race is over”, after a 52-point masterclass by Joel Embiid in the Sixers’ 103-101 National Basketball Association (NBA) victory over the Boston Celtics in a hard-fought battle of the Eastern Conference heavyweights on Tuesday.
“There were so many things we did wrong tonight – but what we did right was Joel Embiid,” Rivers said. “The man just scored half our points in an NBA game. I’m biased, but the MVP race is over.”
Embiid, in his fifth career 50-point game, also hauled in 13 rebounds and laid on six assists in addition to a 20-of-25 shooting tally, which impressed teammate James Harden, who backed Rivers’ bold statement.
“Joel should win it. He’s been in contention for it the last few years,” said Harden, who finished with 20 points and 10 assists in 40 minutes.
“He led the league in scoring last year. It looks like he’s going to lead the league in scoring this year. We’re the third seed in the East. He’s been consistent all year.”
Those comments drew a smile from the 29-year-old Cameroonian as he said: “They are probably right”, but he was quick to draw attention to the team, when he added: “We have bigger goals.”
Those goals would include reaching the NBA Finals, which could mean facing the Celtics again in May in the post-season and should that happen, they would do need to shore up their defensive game especially after the third-placed Sixers (52-27) were given a scare down the stretch.
They almost blew a 103-96 lead with just 10 seconds remaining to allow Boston (54-25) to get back to within two points. Celtics star Jayson Tatum missed a late two-point effort on the buzzer that could have forced overtime.
Embiid was unhappy with the Sixers’ late wobble that almost cost his team their first victory over Boston this season.
“I don’t know what we were doing. We’ve got to be better than that, me included. We’ve just got to be better,” Embiid said.
“Offensively we were not good enough and defensively we got stops when we needed them. But we’ve got to be better than that – we might see them down the road.”
The defeat at the Wells Fargo Centre all but extinguished second-placed Boston’s hopes of winning the top seeding in the East.
The Celtics must now win all three of their remaining regular season games and hope that the Milwaukee Bucks (57-22) lose their final three fixtures to snatch first place and the all-important home advantage in the play-offs.
Over at the Capital One Arena, Giannis Antetokounmpo bagged a triple double, as Milwaukee took a giant stride towards sealing top spot in the East with a 140-128 victory over the Washington Wizards.
Antetokounmpo finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to leave the Bucks within touching distance of first place.
Once again, the Bucks’ balanced offence came to the fore in a comfortable victory, with six players finishing in double figures.
Jrue Holiday finished with 26 points and Brook Lopez 20 points, while Bobby Portis and Jae Crowder added 19 apiece. Joe Ingles finished with 12 off the bench – all from three-point range.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns rode a scorching first 18 minutes to build a huge lead before holding off the visiting San Antonio Spurs to win 115-94 at the Footprint Centre and clinch a play-off spot. The Suns (44-35) remain in fourth place in the Western Conference.
Closing in on a play-off spot are the Los Angeles Lakers, after LeBron James scored 37 points and hit a game-winning lay-up late in overtime to help his side edge out the Utah Jazz 135-133 in Salt Lake City.
The Lakers are just outside the automatic play-off places and are now tied with the sixth-placed LA Clippers on 41-38, with the two teams due to meet in what promises to be a titanic local derby in the Western Conference on Wednesday. AFP, REUTERS
