PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Two dominant players of their generation, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic, have won MVP awards.
None of the players have won the ultimate prize, the NBA championship.
Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers, Jokic, and the Denver Nuggets are about to come within one run if their teams can win a pair of Game 6s on Thursday night.
The 76ers are looking to shut out the Boston Celtics at home and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2001, when league MVP Allen Iverson carried them within his 6-foot frame. Denver tries to win its series against the Suns in Phoenix.
The odds do not favor either side. The Celtics are the 2-point favorite and the Suns are the 3.5-point favorite in Game 6, each FanDuel Sportsbook.
Jokic has reached the Conference Finals before, in 2020 when Denver lost to the eventual champion Lakers in five games in an NBA restart at Walt Disney World amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Embiid has bounced out of the second round of the playoffs four times in his career. Both big men understand what the championship means to their legacy and how now is the time to get at least to the NBA Finals.
Jokic, who scored 29 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists for his 10th career triple-double game 5He said the Nuggets should be ready for a desperation match between Kevin Durant and Phoenix in Game 6.
“It’s a must for them. We need to have a win-win mentality for us,” he said. “We don’t want to come here and get to Game 7 and everything that happens. We don’t need to think of it as desperation – we need to think of it as aggressive play, play exactly the way we did (in Game 5). Because I think we We didn’t play desperately today. I think we played really hard and smart.”
Embiid scored 30 points in three straight games after sitting out the first game with a sprained right knee. Embiid flashed its MVP form in game 5 when is He ran down Jaylen Brown and blocked his shot from behind. The block stopped Boston’s rally late on and coach Doc Rivers called it “the biggest play of the game.”
However, Embiid said he wasn’t “very good tonight”. If he starts playing like he thinks he can, the Celtics could be in for a long Game 6.
“I think I can do better,” Embiid said. “As the series goes on, as everything goes on, I hope I start to feel better and better and better.”
Celtics at the 76ers
76ers lead 3-2. Game 6, 7:30 p.m. EST, Thursday, ESPN.
– Need to know: The 76ers are trying to win it all in the 40th anniversary season of their last championship in 1983. The Sixers are 3-1 at home in the playoffs. They’re 3-0 in the postseason — and 2-0 in this series — when they hit the 115-point mark. Philadelphia has won nine straight playoff games by scoring 115 points.
– Keep an Eye: James Harden. As Harden goes, go to the 76ers. Harden has orchestrated playoff masterpieces, and the 76ers are at their worst when he’s off nights. Against Boston in Games 1 and 4, Harden became just the third player in the last 25 seasons to make multiple three-pointers in the last 20 seconds of a game in a single series.
“We’ve got the best player on our team, and everyone’s kind of figuring it out,” Harden said.
Injury Watch: Joe Embiid continues to play with right knee injuries that may have kept him out of these games during the regular season.
Pressure: Boston. The defending Eastern Conference champion faces an elimination game but has the confidence of knowing he already won in Philly. Jason Tatum scored 27 points and Jaylen Brown had 23 in the 114-102 win Game 3 That ruined the Embed MVP ceremony. The Celtics know if they can force a Game 7, they have to have the advantage at home even after losing two there already.
Nuggets in the sun
Denver leads 3-2. Game 6, 10 p.m. EST, Thursday, ESPN.
Need to know: The home team won every game in this series. If the Suns can keep it going, Sunday’s series will turn into a deciding Game 7 in Denver, where the top-seeded Nuggets boast a 40-7 record, including a 6-0 lead in the playoffs. Of the environment in Denver, Suns guard Devin Booker put it simply: “They play well at home. They’ve done this all year.” Jokic has a great series against the Suns, averaging 35 points, 13.8 rebounds and 10 assists.
– KEEP YOUR EYE: Bruce Brown, who came off the bench in Game 5 to score 25 points for the Nuggets. For his elevated play, the Browns credited Lakers shooting guard Lonnie Walker IV, who came off the bench to score 15 points—all in the fourth quarter—in Monday’s Game 4 win over the Golden State Warriors In the other Western Conference semifinal series. Walker and Brown were college roommates in Miami. “That’s a real pro right there,” Brown said of Walker.
– Injury watch: Suns center guard Chris Paul continues to have a strained left groin. “I haven’t really checked on him, if he’s ready for the full mile yet, but I see him out there shooting and getting ready,” said Booker, who insisted his ankle felt better after the fall in game five.
The pressure is on: Booker and Kevin Durant. That’s what constitutes a “off” poker night these days – 8 of 19 shooting from the floor for 28 points in Game 5. Shooting 79% (34 of 43) on both games in Phoenix. Durant scored 26 points on 10 of 24 shooting on Tuesday. He also committed a technical foul by pushing Jokic close to the Suns bench during a small scuffle. The talented tandem of Durant and Booker leads the league in minutes played this season, with Durant averaging 42.9 and Booker 42.3. “Every great player in this league plays the same amount of minutes we do. But that’s always a theme with me and him for a reason,” Durant said. “But everyone plays more than 40 minutes in the playoffs. You just have to dig deep.”
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA And https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Join the conversation