Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic Battle Ends With Nuggets Defeating Sixers
The Philadelphia 76ers didn’t have much time to rest ahead of Monday’s game. Following an overtime thriller on Sunday night, which resulted in a victory for Philly, the Sixers jumped on a flight back to the City of Brotherly Love as they were scheduled to host the Denver Nuggets less than 24 hours after wrapping up their battle with the Magic.
For Monday’s game, all eyes were on the two bigs as Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Sixers big man Joel Embiid were set to face each other for the first time since 2019.
Monday’s matchup marked the sixth time the two superstars would go at it.
The battle of the bigs didn’t disappoint. Right off the bat, Jokic and Embiid led their teams in scoring through the first 12 minutes of the game. Embiid, who checked in for nine minutes in the first quarter, scored 12 of Philadelphia’s 37 points.
Meanwhile, Jokic collected six of Denver’s 22 points. While the Sixers got off to an ideal start and avoided following their recent trend of starting slow, the Nuggets battled back in the second quarter as they outscored the 76ers 31-21.
Joel Embiid and the Sixers maintained a five-point lead at halftime and kept the ball rolling in the third quarter. With a stellar effort from Embiid and James Harden, the Sixers fired off another 30 points coming out of the half. However, Denver remained right behind them.
Going into the final quarter of the outing, the Nuggets trailed seven points. While the Sixers prevented the defending league MVP from going off by holding him to just three points, they allowed an unlikely reserve to dominate down the stretch.
Denver rookie Bones Hyland checked in for all but 14 seconds of the fourth quarter. During that time, he went 4-5 from three and snagged 12 of the Nuggets’ 33 fourth-quarter points. The Sixers’ trio of Embiid, Harden, and Tyrese Maxey did their part in the final quarter, but they didn’t get enough help from the supporting cast.
Embiid might’ve won the personal scoring battle against Jokic as he outscored the MVP 34-22, but the Nuggets’ overall cast was too much for the Sixers.
As Denver’s bench dominated Philly’s, scoring 34 more points on Monday night, the Sixers came up short and took on a 114-110 loss to the Nuggets. With that, they pick up their 26th loss of the year before hitting the road once again to pay a visit to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.