INDIANAPOLIS — Remember when consecutive losses to the Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons had some worried about Joel Embiid’s candidacy for league MVP?
Well, the 76ers star was having none of that.
The five-time All-Star has the Sixers back on track while posting MVP-worthy performances in three straight victories. The Indiana Pacers were in latest victim in Tuesday night’s 131-122 matchup at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Embiid finished with game-highs of 45 points and 13 rebounds. Twenty-seven of his points along with seven rebounds came before intermission. Then he added 12 points in the third quarter.
The five-time All-Star came into the contest needing 35 points to surpass Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James as the league’s scoring leader. So Embiid now leads the league in scoring at 30.42 points per game with three games remaining. James is second at 30.26.
But Embiid’s efforts helped the Eastern Conference fourth-place Sixers (49-30) avoid losing a 27-point, third-quarter lead. With him on the bench, the Pacers (25-55) the closed the gap to five points (111-106) with 9 minutes, 19 seconds remaining. He returned to game at that point partly because his backup DeAndre Jordan was ejected for committed a flagrant foul 2 on Duane Washington Jr.
The Sixers went on a 13-3 run to get a little breathing run with 5:21 left. Embiid had four of those points. He also made pair of foul shots to put the Sixers up 11 with 3:17 before blocking a shot on the ensuing possession.
His squad also got a big game from Tyrese Maxey.
The second-year guard finished with 30 points while making 8 of 11 3-pointers. He went 7 of 9 from that distance in the first half. His seven 3s were the most by a Sixers in a half since the 1996-97 season.
The Sixers’ 22 made 3-pointers also set a franchise record.
Embiid has been 'Most dominating player in the league'
The deadline to vote for end-of-season awards is 11:59 p.m. Monday. Despite posting dominant performances throughout the season, Embiid is a distant second behind Nikola Jokić in the MVP race, according to an ESPN poll.
Sixers coach Doc Rivers was asked if Embiid gets a bum rap around the league.
“I don’t know, honestly,” he said. “I’m not involved in that. … Joel has been great. Joel has been the MVP since the first game. All year. The other guys are making runs, or one thing. But Joel has been the same. I don’t think any of them have gone through it.
“First he had to do the whole Ben [Simmons] saga. Then he had to integrate James [Harden]. Yet his play hasn’t changed. So he’s had two big things to change. Yet, he’s still the most dominating player in the league.”
No rest yet for Harden and Embiid
A couple of weeks ago, Rivers talked about Embiid and Harden getting a few games off to rest down the stretch.
However, Friday marked the eighth consecutive games that both players participated in after resting against the Miami Heat on March 21. The Sixers have three regular-season games left.
“It’s really not up to me, honestly,” Rivers said about their availability in eight straight games. “Because I would go first, if it’s just rest, I’m taking that. But it’s really going by the numbers. It’s so much more than just me. In the old days, we would just rest guys. It’s a lot more detailed than that.”
The numbers show that Embiid (lower back) and Harden (left hamstring) are holding up better than expected. Harden finished with 11 points and 14 assists on Tuesday.
T.J. McConnell’s return
Pacers backup point guard T.J. McConnell returned Tuesday night after missing 55 games with a right wrist injury to face his former team. McConnell, who hadn’t played since Dec. 1, underwent surgery for ligament damage in the wrist.
He finished with two points, five assists, and four rebounds in 15 minutes. The Pacers only have two games remaining: Saturday at the Sixers and Sunday at the Brooklyn Nets.
So what value does it bring for McConnell to play in three meaningless games for the Pacers, the conference’s third-worst team?
“You know, it’s a good question,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “I think the No. 1 reason is he wants to come back. He wants to play. He wants to get some momentum going into his summer. He wants to feel what it’s like to compete with his teammates.”
McConnell signed with the Sixers as an undrafted free agent out of Arizona on Sept. 22, 2015. The 30-year-old played in Philly for four seasons before signing a free-agent deal with the Pacers on Aug. 6, 2021.
“Why?” Rivers jokingly asked of McConnell playing. “Ask him why. Can he call me up, and I want to ask him why he’s playing other than it’s Philadelphia?
“He’s just a great competitor. ... He loves talking. Between him and Georges [Niang] on our team, they should mic them up live. They would be one heck of a trash-talking competition.”
What’s next
The Sixers travel to Toronto to face the Raptors at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the final game of the three-game road trip. The Raptors (45-33 entering Tuesday) hold a 2-1 series advantage over the Sixers this season.
