NBA: Embiid makes his improbable MVP dream come true

NEW YORK—Joel Embiid played volleyball and football as a child growing up in Cameroon, never turning to basketball until age 15. Now he's the NBA's Most Valuable Player.

The 29-year-old power forward reflected on his improbable journey when he spoke Wednesday after practice for the Philadelphia 76ers as they prepared to face the Boston Celtics in the second round of the NBA playoffs.

"Probably the probability of someone like me, starting playing basketball at 15, to get the chance to be the MVP of the league is I'd say probably negative zero," Embiid said.

"But improbable doesn't mean impossible and you can accomplish anything you set your mind to as long as you believe in it and you keep working hard, anything can happen."

For Embiid, it happened after he switched sports as a child and was seen by Cameroonian NBA player Luc Mbah a Moute, who helped him move to the United States at age 16 to boost his dreams of playing in the NBA.

After a youth career and a season at the University of Kansas, Embiid was the third overall selection in the 2014 NBA Draft by the 76ers.

Embiid stepped up his game as the years went along, having been an NBA All-Star since 2018 and winning the league scoring crown last season and this season with career highs of 30.6 points in 2021-22 and 33.1 points a game in 2022-2023.

This year, he claimed the MVP award, defeating the past two MVPs, Denver's Nikola Jokic and Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo.

"Feels good obviously," Embiid said. "That's something that I dreamt of and I've always wanted."

No MVP has then led his club to an NBA playoff crown since Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors in 2015.

Embiid hopes to end that drought despite suffering a sprained right knee and missing the opener of the best-of-seven series against Boston.

While he feels healthy after some rest following a first-round triumph, Embiid says doctors will largely dictate when he returns.

"I'm going to listen to those guys and see what they have to say, the doctors," Embiid said.

"Obviously I want to play. Everybody knows me. I just love being on the court. If I've got the green light then we're going to go ahead."

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Maxey stars as Sixers take 2-0 lead over Nets

LOS ANGELES -- Tyrese Maxey scored 33 points as the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Brooklyn Nets 96-84 to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series on Monday.

With Brooklyn double-teaming Sixers star Joel Embiid throughout, it was left to Maxey to do the damage for Philadelphia with a shooting clinic that leaves Doc Rivers' team two wins away from a series victory.

Maxey's 33-point haul from 13-of-23 shooting included six from three-point range as Brooklyn finally succumbed after making a bright start that saw them lead by 10 points in the second quarter.

But Brooklyn were left ruing their inability to make the most of their first-half dominance against a sluggish-looking Sixers, who nevertheless restricted the Nets to just a five-point advantage as the teams went in for half-time at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center.

Philadelphia's adjustments paid dividends in the third and fourth quarters, with the Sixers outscoring Brooklyn 24-14 in the third before wrapping up victory in the fourth.

"They did a few different things defensively tonight, but we were prepared," said Maxey, paying tribute to Embiid's decisive contribution despite being closely marked throughout by Brooklyn.

"At half-time we figured out what we were going to do. But hats off to Joel -– to be so dominant when you're trapped every single play, and you still make the right basketball play –- that's big-time."

Embiid finished with 20 points and 19 rebounds while laying on seven assists as Maxey and Tobias Harris (20 points) shouldered the offensive responsibilities.

"He trusts in me, and he trusts in Tobias to make the big shots tonight and that's what we did," Maxey said of Embiid's selfless performance.

Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers meanwhile admitted his team had been lucky to face only a five point deficit heading into half-time.

"I thought we wasted the whole first half," Rivers said. "We were fortunate. At half-time they could have been up more, with the way we played. We're a better team than the way we played in the first half.

"But this is what the playoffs are all about -- it's gonna test your trust. This was an early test for us, and we came through it."

Cameron Johnson led the Brooklyn scoring with 28 points while Mikal Bridges finished with 21 and Spencer Dinwiddie 12.

Game three in the series takes place in Brooklyn on Thursday.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Brilliant Embiid leads Sixers comeback, Denver fall again

LOS ANGELES -- Joel Embiid scored 39 points and drained a superb game-winning jump shot with less than two seconds remaining as the Philadelphia 76ers completed a dramatic 120-119 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday.

The Sixers looked to be heading for defeat after trailing by 21 points in the second quarter, and were down by 13 with less than six minutes remaining in the final period.

But Embiid and James Harden spearheaded a late rally to haul the Sixers back into contention, shutting down the Portland offense while stitching together a run to make it a one-point game with 38 seconds remaining.

And with the clock ticking down, Embiid spun away from the Blazers' Jusuf Nurkic to drain a fadeaway jumper to put the Sixers ahead 120-119, the first time Philadelphia had led during the game.

"I knew I had to get a bucket," Embiid said afterward of his game-winning play. 

"We'd fought the whole game, come back after being down by 20 to make it a one-point game –- you've got to make those plays. 

"But my teammates and my coach trust me to do my job."

Embiid's 39-points came on 13-of-20 shooting and was the latest in a series of dazzling performances by the Cameroonian star. 

Since the start of March, Embiid has averaged nearly 37 points a game, with tallies of 39, 39, 42, 31 and 35 over his last five appearances.

Embiid had scoring support from James Harden with 19 points, while Tyrese Maxey and De'Anthony Melton had 13 each. 

Georges Niang added 12 points off the bench for the Sixers, who trailed 71-56 after a sluggish first half.

- Stuck 'in mud' -

"We just couldn't get going," Sixers coach Doc Rivers said. "We looked like we were in mud in the first half, at both ends. 

"That's a hell of a win for us because we didn't have a lot –- and you could see it. But we just hung in there long enough, and we found a way.”

It was the third time this season that the Sixers, who are third in the Eastern Conference with a 44-22 record, have come back from being down by 20 points to win.

"We don't quit, and we don't give up," Harden said afterward. 

"Obviously you don't want to be down 20, but we try to find ways to stay in the game to give ourselves a chance and that's what we did tonight."

Portland meanwhile was left to reflect on a victory that slipped away at the end after a superb shooting performance from Anfernee Simons, who finished with 34 points on 13-of-22 shooting, including eight three-pointers. 

Jerami Grant added 24 points and Damian Lillard had 22.

Elsewhere Friday, the Western Conference-leading Denver Nuggets suffered a second straight defeat in a 128-120 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Texas.

The Nuggets, who were beaten 117-96 by lowly Chicago on Wednesday, looked to have put that defeat behind them after outscoring the Spurs 38-26 in the first quarter.

But San Antonio roared back with a 42-point second quarter and outscored Denver 60-53 in the second half to seal a surprise win. 

Keldon Johnson led the Spurs scorers with 23 points, with six other San Antonio players finishing in double figures.

Denver's reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic recorded a 37-point triple-double -- his 26th of the season.

Despite the loss, Denver remains firmly on pace for top seeding in the Western Conference playoffs, leading second-placed Sacramento by six games with a 46-21 record.

In Miami, Jimmy Butler led a fourth-quarter rally to help the Heat claim a 119-115 win over Cleveland despite a 42-point showing from the Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell.

Miami outscored the Cavs 37-26 in the final frame, with Butler scoring 12 points as part of a 33-point display to get the Heat over the line. 

Elsewhere Friday, Brooklyn downed the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-123 in overtime while the Atlanta Hawks claimed a 114-107 road win over the Washington Wizards.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Embiid scores 41 points as Sixers rout Pacers

NEW YORK -- Joel Embiid scored 41 points as the Philadelphia 76ers bagged their 50th win of the season with a crushing 133-120 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.

The Sixers, who are jostling with the Boston Celtics for the third-seeding in the Eastern Conference with one game of the regular season remaining, improved to 50-31 with the win.

Philadelphia can seal third place on Sunday if they beat Detroit at home in their final game of the season and Boston lose their road game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Embiid, meanwhile, produced another dominant performance that enhanced his claims to the NBA's Most Valuable Player award, finishing with 20 rebounds and four assists in addition to his 41-point haul.

But Embiid played down his statistical contribution afterwards.

"I've always said, I want to dominate, and dominating can show up in different ways," he said. "Sometimes it's in the numbers, and sometimes the numbers don't show it."

While Embiid said defensively the Sixers "have a long way to go," he believes the team's balanced offensive performance on Saturday augurs well for the postseason.

James Harden added 22 points with 14 assists, while Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris chipped in with 18 points apiece in a game that the Sixers led from early in the first quarter through to the final buzzer.

"We're working on what we want to accomplish in the playoffs," Embiid said. "Making sure everyone is comfortable in the offense and today was an example of that. The ball just moved, found the right guys, everybody got a touch. 

"And in the playoffs that's how we're going to have to play if we want to succeed."

- Grizzlies beat Pelicans -

Embiid meanwhile said he was uncertain if he would play in Sunday's final game of the season.

"I want to play but at the same time it's also a back-to-back and we have to get ready for the playoffs," Embiid said.

"I'm going to see how I feel. But I want to play. I feel we still need to work on spacing and chemistry, so whatever we can get out of these last few games will be good."

Elsewhere Saturday, Ja Morant impressed upon his return from a three-week injury absence as the Memphis Grizzlies thrashed the New Orleans Pelicans.

Morant scored 21 points from just under 27 minutes on court in a 141-114 blowout for the Grizzlies, who are already assured of second-seed status in the Western Conference.

Morant was one of seven Memphis players to finish in double figures as the Grizzlies warmed up for the postseason with a dazzling offensive display which included a 55-point third quarter.

Dillon Brooks led the Memphis scoring with 23 points, while Brandon Clarke had 20 from the bench.

Morant said he was relieved to have come through his return successfully after watching from the sidelines since mid-March.

"It felt good, man. I got tired of being in street clothes," Morant said.

"I'm just ready to make this end of the season push with my teammates. Excited to get back into it. 

"It sucked not playing actual games. I just felt like I needed a game or two to get ready for the playoffs."

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris lift 76ers over Raptors

Joel Embiid scored 36 points, including the go-ahead layup with 51.3 seconds left in the game, and grabbed 11 rebounds as the visiting Philadelphia 76ers held on to defeat the depleted Toronto Raptors 114-109 Tuesday night.

Tobias Harris added a triple-double with 19 points, a career-best 10 assists and 12 rebounds and made four free throws in the final minute.

Georges Niang scored eight of his 19 points in the fourth quarter for the 76ers, who have won three of their past four games. Seth Curry added 12 points and Furkan Korkmaz had 10.

Chris Boucher had 28 points and matched his career best with 19 rebounds for the Raptors, who have lost two straight.

Toronto also got 28 points from Pascal Siakam, who returned from safety and health protocols, as did Gary Trent Jr., who scored 19. Yuta Watanabe added 10 points.

The 76ers took a four-point lead into the fourth quarter. They stretched it to 12 with 8:38 to play when Niang made two straight 3-pointers. Toronto came back with a 9-0 run, but Embiid's 3-pointer bumped the lead to six with 3:15 to play.

Toronto cut the lead to two on Trent's jumper, and he came back with a 3-pointer for a one-point lead with 1:41 left.

Embiid's layup gave the 76ers a one-point lead in the final minute. Harris added two free throws with 16.8 seconds to play and two more with 6.1 seconds left.

Philadelphia led 27-24 after the first quarter.

Curry's jumper with 3:01 left in the second quarter increased the lead to eight. Trent made two 3-pointers, cutting the lead to three. Curry ended the first-half scoring with a 3-pointer and Philadelphia led 55-48.

Boucher made three 3-pointers in the first four minutes of the third quarter to cut the lead to three. Philadelphia responded with an 8-2 surge.

Toronto took a two-point lead with 2:02 remaining in the third after Svi Mykhailiuk made two 3-pointers and a free throw. Philadelphia finished the third with a 9-3 run to lead 85-81.

Toronto was without Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes, Justin Champagnie and Isaac Bonga because of health and safety protocols. Philadelphia was without Danny Green, Shake Milton and Andre Drummond for the same reason.

-reuters