NBA

• 76ers 119, Celtics 115
  • Well, we witnessed vintage James Harden last night. In this game, the guard tallied 45 points and six assists, reminding us of the top-four player he was in Houston. For one night, at least, Philadelphia was able to skate by without Joel Embiid. I’m guessing the 76ers will have to win without their star big man at least one more time in order to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
  • The Celtics have struggled in crunch time all season, and those struggles reared their ugly head yesterday. Late in this affair, Malcolm Brogdon dished out a dreadful turnover. and Jayson Tatum, after a brilliant first half, was nowhere to be found. Jaylen Brown needs more shots, as he attempted just 10 in this game, making eight. After the result of this contest, this series feels like a tossup, with the health of Embiid being the biggest and most obvious variable.
• Nuggets 97, Suns 87
  • For the 10th time in the past 19 years, the voters are set to honor the wrong player as MVP. Joel Embiid is a marvelous player — make no mistake about it, but Nikola Jokic is better (and more valuable). The Nuggets’ superstar dropped 39 points, 16 rebounds, and five assists in this tilt, powering Denver to a 2-0 series lead.
  • This game was completely up for grabs, and if the Suns lose this series, they will certainly regret dropping Game 2. To make matters worse, Phoenix was gifted a 3-15 shooting night from Jamal Murray. The Suns essentially have to win both games in Phoenix, and the team’s chances to win said games will increase if Devin Booker focuses more on being the excellent player that he is as opposed to clamoring for foul calls and getting in the faces of opponents.