A superstar was necessary. They received a total dud.Batman was present. Robin failed to show up.
The $33,000,000 man? The Sixers need two more defeats to avoid losing $200 million. On Friday, Boston thrashed Philadelphia 114-102 to lead the series 2-1.
In his second game back after a knee injury, Joel Embiid was outstanding. He earned thirty points. He grabbed 13 rebounds.
He deflected five attempts. Embiid struggled through the entire 39 minutes while dragging his right knee and concealing a large knee brace under a long white sleeve.
Embiid gave the Sixers a shot on the evening the NBA officially named him MVP.James Harden then stole it from him.
Harden concluded with 16 points and 11 assists on the scoreboard. Whatever. Of his 14 shots, he made three of them.
On two of his seven threes, he made contact. In the first half, he committed five turnovers.
Jump shots caused him to pause. He declined layups. The forceful, accurate shooter who guided the Embiid-less Sixers to victory in Game 1? Gone.