The Philadelphia 76ers kicked off a five-game road trip tonight. Their first destination was Salt Lake City, where they took on the Utah Jazz. Joel Embiid and James Harden led the charge tonight as they erased the taste of the blowout loss the Thunder handed them.
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James Harden scored 31 points, dished 11 assists, and grabbed six rebounds. Joel Embiid scored 30 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and blocked two shots en route the 118-117 win over the Jazz.
The Sixers now head to Los Angeles as they face the Lakers tomorrow night. Having navigated through a 6-4 recent stretch, the Sixers would like to take as many games as they can on this road trip. Tonight’s win brought their road record up to 9-9, and the next few games give them a chance to improve it even further.
Also Read: Does Shaquille O’Neal Own Reebok? How The $2.4 Billion Purchase Brought Things Full Circle For Shaq
NBA Twitter reacts as Joel Embiid gets stuck between Jazz dancers
Ahead of the matchup tonight, Joel Embiid was in center court when Jazz dancers came and started their routine. They did not pay heed to the fact that the 5x All-Star was standing right in the middle.
Instead of disrupting their routine and walking away, Embiid started vibing to the same as well.
Joel Embiid was vibing with the Jazz dancers pregame 🤣 pic.twitter.com/kIpU8SbbvF
— NBA (@NBA) January 15, 2023
NBA Twitter saw the 2022 Scoring Champion do so, and couldn’t help but react.
Me in the club https://t.co/cL5XKS0rXD
— StonedHacker (@mane_ams) January 15, 2023
A national treasure https://t.co/yc31qRhzuO
— Jordan A. Winkler (@jordanawinkler) January 15, 2023
https://t.co/8A2UsM0sV4 pic.twitter.com/lVNNo05Pj4
— ⭐️🙏 (@JuanCantLose) January 15, 2023
Highlight of the night https://t.co/4XTS1SCBcW
— Adam Baird (@AdamBaird13) January 15, 2023
He’s the old man that’s in the middle of the 18+ club trying to follow the vibe. #NBATwitter #NBA https://t.co/oTMijFxmXe
— Kells 🇺🇸🇦🇺 (@KMBAussie) January 15, 2023
We had to win after that https://t.co/TBpCarJINv
— Papi Gordo (@PhattyRbm) January 15, 2023
The fans sure had a great time watching Joel figure out how to get involved in the routine.
Is Joel in contention for MVP this season?
We have seen Nikola Jokic lift the MVP trophy for the last two years. Both these years, Joel Embiid was the runner-up and had to smile while he watched what could potentially have been his trophy given away.
Averaging 33.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists this season, Joel Embiid has made his way to the Top-5 on the latest MVP ladder. If the Sixers’ big man keeps getting his team wins and performing as he has been, an MVP award may not be too far out of his reach.