Joel Embiid scored 52 points and added 13 rebounds, six assists and two blocks as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Boston Celtics 103-101.
It was the fifth 50-point game in the career of the 29-year-old.
With five days left in the regular season, Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers feels Embiid is the obvious candidate to be 2023’s Most Valuable Player.
“I’m biased, but the MVP race is over,” Rivers said. “We did so many things wrong, but what we did right was Joel.”
The defeat for the second-placed Celtics all but ended their hopes of securing top seeding for the imminent play-offs in the Eastern Conference standings.
They must now win all three of their remaining regular-season games and hope Milwaukee lose their final three fixtures to take first place and home advantage in the play-offs.
James Harden added 20 points and 10 assists in 40 minutes for third-placed Philadelphia and afterwards agreed with Rivers that Embiid has been the season’s standout player.
He said: “Joel should win it. He’s been in contention for it the last few years. He led the league in scoring last year.”
When asked about the MVP comments from his coach and team-mate, Embiid joked they were “probably right” but said the team had “bigger goals”.
Source (BBC Sport)
