James Harden Calls Joel Embiid MVP After Winning Shot vs. Blazers

Doc Rivers and the Philadelphia 76ers gave themselves a couple of options on the team’s final offensive possession against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.

To no surprise, the potential game-winning shot would go to either Joel Embiid or James Harden.

After the game, Rivers revealed that the plan was to inbound the ball to Embiid, and James Harden would then follow by running past the big man with the duo attempting to sell a fake handoff.

Or, Embiid could release the ball and allow Harden to go to work.

Instead, Harden saw a better opportunity and made an immediate adjustment on the fly.

“James Harden made an amazing read,” Rivers said after the game. “Jo caught it deeper than we thought he could catch it, and James cut. It was such a great read. I’m telling you, there are ten people that could see that instead. 99.9 percent of the league would’ve come anyway, brought their guy, and crowded the thing, but James realized. He caught it on the elbow, and when James saw that, he just cut out.”

Embiid had Blazers center Just Nurkic in a one-on-one scenario in an area where he’s comfortable letting shots fly. Initially, Embiid was going for the drive, but he would draw a double team. With a spin and a fade, Embiid took a last-second shot that’s become routine to him over the years.

Fortunately for the Sixers, the final attempt became his 13th bucket of the night.

JOEL EMBIID CALLED GAME.

SIXERS WIN IN PHILLY. pic.twitter.com/E6eD8iHr69
— NBA (@NBA) March 11, 2023

“That’s why he’s the MVP of the league,” Harden said after the game.

“Don’t run to the ball, and give Joel as much space as he needs to create a shot. Most likely, if he got a shot up, it was going in. I just tried to run up, give him space, get to the dunker, and he took the shot, and he made it,” he finished.

Embiid’s big-time shot gave the Sixers the only lead of the night in the final moment during a matchup they trailed by as many as 21 points.

With another comeback win in the bag by way of Embiid’s impressive make, the big man added another accomplishment to his resume this season, leading Harden to sprinkle some fuel into the heated MVP debate.

Since returning from the All-Star break, Embiid appeared in seven of the Sixers’ last eight games going into Friday’s matchup. During that time, the big man averaged 35 points, ten rebounds, and four assists while knocking down 54 percent of his field goals and draining 42 percent of his threes.

On Friday, Embiid had another stellar outing. Knocking down 13 of his 20 shots from the field and adding 13 free throws to the mix, Embiid wrapped up the victory with 39 points. He also came down with seven rebounds and produced four assists as the Sixers took down Portland.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.