Joel Embiid vs Nikola Jokic – Battle of MVP candidates

The two frontrunners for MVP battled it out in a close game that went down to the last minute.

Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic have been having monster seasons. The two Centers are the frontrunners in the MVP race this season and have carried their teams for most of the season. While Embiid has recently gotten help from James Harden, Jokic remains the sole superstar on the Nuggets with Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. out due to injury.

Embiid leads the league in scoring with 29.8 points but Jokic leads the league in most advanced statistics. Giannis Antetokounmpo is also a part of the conversation and is scoring 29.7 point per game and 11.5 rebounds. But despite his great stat line, the fact that he has help from Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday is held against him.

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The matchup between the two Centers was won by Embiid but Jokic went home with the win. Embiid had 34 points and 9 rebounds. He had help from James harden who was one rebound shy of a triple-double and had 24 points,9 rebounds, and 11 assists. Tyrese Maxey had 19 points and Tobias Harris had 10 points in the game.

The Nuggets were led by Nikola Jokic who had 22 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists. Will Barton and Nah’Shon ‘Bones’ Hyland had 20 and 21 respectively. It was a homecoming for Hyland who is from Delaware. Monte Morris and JaMychal Green helped as well with 11 points and 10 points respectively. The Nuggets came away with the win beating the 76ers 114-110 despite Joel Embiid’s big night.

With the loss, the 76ers move to the 3 seed right below the Milwaukee Bucks. The 76ers had started to a great start with the combination of Joel Embiid and James Harden but have since cooled down. Their first challenge was going against the Brooklyn Nets where James Harden failed to show up and the 76ers got blown out at home. While the duo could still be dynamic, the reality is that the team has lost a lot of depth in the Harden trade and are very dependent on their 2 superstars for success.