The Philadelphia 76ers took care of the Dallas Mavericks at home and beat them by 10 points. They were led by their 2 superstars Joel Embiid and James Harden. The 76ers inch closer to the 3 seed with the win. They are just half a game behind the Milwaukee Bucks right now. On the other hand, the Dallas Mavericks losing hurts them in the race for the 4 seed as the Utah Jazz extend the gap after their win against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Joel Embiid led all scorers with 32 points. He also had 8 rebounds and 4 assists to go along with it. The 76er big man is a top 3 candidate for MVP and many MVP voters have talked about how he is the favourite right now. The Big Man had help from his partner in crime, James Harden as well. Harden had 24 points, 12 assists, and 7 rebounds in the game. The only other 76ers in double digits were Matisse Thybulle(10), Tobias Harris (14), and Georges Niang(12).
Embiid also had 5 steals in the game, establishing himself defensively as well. The Philadelphia 76ers’ Big man leads the league in 30 point games and has 33 30 point games this season. If Embiid could lead in points averaged this season, he would be the first big man since Shaquille O’Neal to win the scoring title. But Giannis Antetokounmpo is right on his heels with 29.8 points per game. The battle for the scoring title and MVP will come down to the last game of the regular season.
The Mavericks had a mediocre game from Luka Doncic compared to his usual standard of play. He only had 17 points and 10 assists in the game. No Maverick scored more than 25 points and Jalen Brunson was the only one who scored more than 20 points (24). The loss against the 76ers is a step down for the Mavericks with regards to the race for 4 seed against Utah. While it is still achievable it has gotten tougher for them to get the home-court advantage for the Playoffs.
