WATCH: Joel Embiid nails 3-point dagger to lift Philly to victory
The Philadelphia 76ers were in a hard-fought battle in the 2022 NBA Playoffs on Wednesday night with the Toronto Raptors on the road. And in crunch time, they did what smart teams do–they gave the ball to their best player and got out of the way. The 76ers gave the rock to their superstar center Joel Embiid and he delivered a stone-cold dagger that ripped the hearts out of the Raptors’ crowd.
With the game tied at 101-101 in overtime with 2.6 seconds remaining, the former Kansas Jayhawk star caught the ball from the left wing behind the 3-point line, rose, and fired a dagger for the ages.
The game-winning shot was the first of Embiid’s career thus far. He missed a chance to win the game at the end of regulation, but when given that opportunity again in overtime, he did not disappoint. Embiid showed why many are currently calling him the best player in the world.
The fade away three-pointer put the 76ers ahead 104-101 with 0.8 remaining. The Raptors would get one final shot on the other end, but it missed. Philadelphia now leads the series with a commanding 3-0 advantage.
Hitting shots like that is what MVPs are supposed to do and Joel Embiid has played like the MVP of the NBA for nearly the entire 2021-2022 season. There was simply not much the Raptors could have done, but their defenders were scrambling to cover him well after the catch. Standing at 7-feet, 280 pounds, it’s a near impossible matchup when a player that tall can nail a game-winning shot from that deep. The stroke was a near perfect shot-it splashed through the net touching nothing but nylon.
Embiid poured in 33 points and corralled 13 rebounds for his team in the 104-101 victory. He was recently named as one of three finalists for the MVP award and it’s been well deserved as he’s dominated throughout the 2021-2022 season. The seven-footer has stuffed the stat sheet with over 30 points per game, 11.7 rebounds per game, and 4.2 assists per game this season–numbers that are simply hard to fathom for a player his size.
James Harden poured in 19 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out 10 assists in the hard-fought win. He fouled out with 26 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, but Tyrese Maxey stepped up and made some big plays for the 76ers once he left the game. Maxey poured in 19 points, too, in the huge road victory for Philadelphia.
Game 4 of the series will be in Toronto. That one will tip off at 2:00 PM EST on TNT on Saturday, April 23.