The Philadelphia 76ers hosted the Boston Celtics tonight. This was their fourth and final matchup of the season. Heading into tonight, the Celtics held the season series at 3-0, and they would have wanted to finish the sweep. However, Joel Embiid had other plans.
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The MVP candidate was on fire tonight. He scored 52 points, and had 13 rebounds, six assists, and two blocks.
Joel Embiid Tonight:
52 Points
13 Rebounds
6 Assists
20-25 FGHe is the 2nd player in NBA history to record 50 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 80% shooting in a game, joining Wilt Chamberlain (2x) pic.twitter.com/kjYI5k6EA4
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 5, 2023
He helped the Sixers beat the Celtics 103-101.
This was a big win, not only for the Sixers, but also for Embiid. The MVP race is closer than ever, and this performance will surely help Embiid get the edge over Nikola Jokic. At least Skip Bayless seems to believe so.
Skip Bayless claims Joel Embiid clinched MVP tonight
The Philadelphia 76ers were dominant right from the start tonight. Riding on Joel Embiid’s big night, they built a lead as large as nine points. However, they kept making careless mistakes as well. This put Skip Bayless in a roller coaster of emotions.
Having picked Sixers to win the East, Skip wasn’t too pleased with James Harden.
Right now James Harden looks like a sad shell of his former MVP self – and because I picked the Sixers to win the East, this horrifies me.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) April 5, 2023
After that, when the Celtics cut the lead in the final minutes, Bayless once again lost his cool and claimed the Sixers were trying to lose.
The Sixers have done every dumb thing they can to blow a game they should’ve won by 10. If I didn’t know better, I’d say they’re trying to lose. Mind-boggling.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) April 5, 2023
However, once the game ended and the Sixers came out on top, he took a sigh of relief, and wrote, “Joel Embiid clinched MVP!”
SHEW: Sixers finally beat the Celtics for the first time in 4 tries this season. Embiid clinched MVP. But THE KEYS were 3 late threes by Mr. Corner Three, P.J. Tucker. THANK YOU, SIR, FOR WINNING ME 4 MORE CASES OF DIET DEW.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) April 5, 2023
This performance tonight makes it hard to claim Joel is not a deserving candidate for MVP. Even Doc Rivers seems to feel the same way.
Doc Rivers claims the MVP race is over
After watching Joel Embiid absolutely dominate tonight, Doc Rivers made sure he put the word out for his star. Scoring 52 out of your team’s 103 points, and that too on 80% shooting from the field? That’s MVP stuff right there.
“The MVP race is over. … The man just scored half our points, in an NBA game.”
Doc Rivers on the MVP race 🗣 pic.twitter.com/sFzTtMvDvC
— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 5, 2023
With five days left to conclude the regular season, we shall know the final results soon enough.
