{"id":265873,"date":"2022-03-11T19:59:09","date_gmt":"2022-03-11T18:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/?p=265873"},"modified":"2022-03-11T19:59:09","modified_gmt":"2022-03-11T18:59:09","slug":"kia-mvp-ladder-joel-embiid-misses-chance-to-gain-ground-on-nikola-jokic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/kia-mvp-ladder-joel-embiid-misses-chance-to-gain-ground-on-nikola-jokic\/","title":{"rendered":"Kia MVP Ladder: Joel Embiid misses chance to gain ground on Nikola Jokic"},"content":{"rendered":"

We expected the\u00a0<\/span>cold reception<\/span><\/a>\u00a0Ben Simmons received Thursday from the crowd at the Wells Fargo Center, but the\u00a0129-100 clinic<\/a>\u00a0Brooklyn delivered to Philadelphia came as a shocker in what turned out to be a Kia Race to the MVP Ladder matchup.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe already knew we had his back,\u201d Kevin Durant said of Simmons during his postgame interview with TNT. \u201cIt just felt good to quiet all of them down midway through the game. It was very quiet towards the end. We didn\u2019t hear no more Ben Simmons chants from Sixers fans. It was more Nets fans in here than anything.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Plenty of superstars occupied the building, too, in a pair of former MVPs in Durant and James Harden, MVP frontrunner Joel Embiid and Kia Race to the MVP Ladder mainstay Kyrie Irving. In this highly anticipated matchup between rivals meeting for the first time since the\u00a0<\/span>blockbuster deal<\/span><\/a>\u00a0that sent Simmons to Brooklyn for Harden, Durant scored 18 of his team-high 25 points in the first half against a Sixers squad anchored by Embiid, who finished with 27 points on 5-for-17 from the field (by the way, Philadelphia is 6-10 this season when Embiid shoots worse than 42%).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Harden managed to\u00a0<\/span>surpass Reggie Miller<\/span><\/a>\u00a0for No. 3 all time in 3-pointers made. But the rest of the night fizzled into a dud, as Harden connected on 3-for-17 from the field and tied Embiid with a team-high four turnovers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cWe got our [expletive] kicked,\u201d Harden said. \u201cSince I\u2019ve been here, everything has been sweet, and we\u2019ve been winning games. So, tonight was good for us.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

O.K.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Durant, meanwhile, provided highlights like\u00a0<\/span>this<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in transition to help Brooklyn pour in 28 points off 20 Philadelphia giveaways. We can\u2019t leave out this\u00a0<\/span>nasty Durant crossover<\/span><\/a>\u00a0for a first quarter dunk. Durant hit a red-hot 5-for-6 in the opening quarter for 11 points, while Irving chipped in another 11 on 4-for-5 from the floor in the opening frame, including\u00a0<\/span>this<\/span><\/a>\u00a0tough midrange jumper.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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