Basketball

A brutal third quarter spelled the difference in a 121-87 loss to send the series to Philadelphia tied at one game apiece.

At last, it is Joel Embiid's time. The 29-year-old Sixers superstar big man was named the 2023 Kia MVP of the NBA, it was announced on TNT on Tuesday evening. A long time coming, it is the first such award of Embiid's career.

James Harden authored a masterpiece in Joel Embiid's absence, dropping 45 points to lead the Sixers to a shocking upset, 119-115.

The Sixers will have to deal with significant adversity in Monday's Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics.

The Sixers will have a chance to exorcise not one but two demons in the 2023 playoffs.

There won't be much more playing against themselves. The Sixers are about to start a new battle. And Harden realizes that he has to take his game to a different level. Different from what it was in the first round, different from what it is within the walls of the team's training complex during their intra-squad scrimmages. 

The Sixers were third in offense in the regular season. They were eighth in offense in the first round of the playoffs, sporting a rating that would've ranked outside of the top 10 in the regular season, according to Cleaning The Glass.

Tobias Harris stepped up in Joel Embiid's absence to lead the Sixers to victory, 96-88.

Tyrese Maxey scored 10 consecutive points late in the fourth quarter to power the Sixers to victory, 102-97.

Tyrese Maxey scored 33 points to power the Sixers to a 96-84 victory in Game 2.

But, the fun and games were over for Bridges after the intermission. Embiid was much more aggressive in showing Bridges extra pressure when the ball was in his hands.

The Sixers used a balanced attack and a barrage of threes to beat up on the Nets in Game 1, 121-101.