Jokic or Embiid: Who will walk away with MVP award?
As the final votes are tallied, USA TODAY Sports' Jeff Zillgitt tells us who he thinks will end up with this year's MVP award in the NBA.
SportsPulse, USA TODAY
Things got chippy early in the Philadelphia 76ers' 102-97 Game 3 win over the Brooklyn Nets, and the physical play continued throughout the contest, eventually earning an ejection for Sixers star James Harden and Nets big man Nic Claxton.
Less than three minutes into the matchup at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Joel Embiid and Claxton got involved in a dust-up that led to a flagrant one foul for Embiid.
Claxton made an alley-oop dunk over Embiid with 9:34 remaining in the first quarter to put the Nets up 6-4. After the dunk, Claxton stared down Embiid on the hardwood and stepped over him. Embiid responded by kicking Claxton near the groin area.
After a lengthy review, referees issued Embiid a flagrant foul one for the kick. A flagrant foul two would have earned the MVP front-runner an automatic ejection.
Claxton was given a technical foul.
Harden was not as lucky as Embiid.
The 76ers guard was assessed a flagrant foul two and tossed from the game after he appeared to strike the Nets' Royce O'Neale in the groin area while trying to create separation with his left arm toward the end of the third quarter.
Harden exited the game with 21 points.
Harden and Embiid were in disbelief when the ruling was announced after review.
Charles Barkley was among those confused why Harden was tossed but Embiid got to remain in the game.
"The key to this play is you can't hit him in the groin, you got to kick him in the groin, because if you kick him you can get away with it," Barkley said on TNT while viewing footage of the play that earned Harden's ejection.
"Kids at home, do not hit guys in their junk, kick them in the junk," Barkley quipped. He later added: "I just don't understand the officiating on both of those calls. One's accidental (Harden), one's intentional (Embiid)."
Following the Sixers' win to go up 3-0 in the series, Harden called his ejection "unbelievable" and "unacceptable." He added: "I didn’t even think it was a foul on me."
Crew chief Tony Brothers explained that Embiid’s kick was "unnecessary," but it wasn’t deemed excessive or a flagrant foul two because of the "point of contact to the leg.” Harden, however, was assessed a flagrant foul two and ejected because of "the point of contact directly to the groin" of O’Neale with his hand, Brothers said.
After their first quarter run-in, Claxton and Embiid continued to go at it. Claxton was called for a foul for pushing Embiid in the back under the basket, resulting in Embiid grabbing his lower back on the floor. Embiid headed back to the locker room near the end of the first quarter. It was confirmed on the TNT broadcast that Embiid was receiving treatment on his back. He did return to the game about midway through the second quarter.
Claxton was eventually ejected himself in the fourth quarter after he picked up his second technical foul of the game for taunting after making a basket.
"I got to keep my emotions in check. My team, they need me out there," Claxton said afterwards. "That's a part of my growth, just keeping my cool in moments like that when I'm playing well & my emotions are really high... I just (have to) be smarter."
Claxton also said he was surprised Embiid wasn't ejected: "He’s the MVP. I thought he should’ve been kicked out... but it's not my job to referee," Claxton said, per Newsday's Evan Barnes. "Maybe I should’ve sold it more instead of just clapping on the ground," he added.
The 76ers got a big boost down the stretch from Tyrese Maxey, who stepped up big in Harden's absence. Embiid came up with a monster block in the game's final seconds to help preserve Philadelphia's lead.Maxey had 25 points and Embiid finished with 14.
"We stayed together, we kept playing through everything that was going on. I'm just glad we got the win," Embiid said on the court after the game. He also vowed to be better in Saturday's potential closeout game. When asked about the kick postgame, Embiid said: "I don't know. I don't remember. Like I said we're up 3-0, we move on... I honestly don't remember the play."
No team has ever overcome a 3-0 deficit in NBA history.
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