Is the race for the MVP really played? While Nikola Jokic seemed to be heading for a third consecutive trophy, Joel Embiid has not quite said his last word.
This night, he thus achieved a new capital performance, with 39 points against the Blazers, and especially the winning shot to allow his team to validate the hold-up. Before this shoot, Philadelphia had not led the game, finding themselves squarely at 21 points at one point in the match…
“As soon as I started to dribble, I knew I was going to have to do a stepback,” explains the pivot. “I knew I had to go to my spot, in this area. In previous years, it was my perfect spot. At the top of the key, the court is wide open because the opponents want to prevent the 3-pointer at all costs .”
In any case, this is the third time this season that the Sixers have come back from a 20-point deficit. And it’s Joel Embiid’s 23rd game to 35+ points this season, the same tally as Shaquille O’Neal in 1999/00, the last pivot to have so many in a single campaign.
“It’s something he works on every day,” explains James Harden about his comrade’s latest shoot. “That’s why he’s the league’s MVP this year.”
