The league's first center battle
Who is the league's no. 1 center? Some will say Jokic, others will say Embiid, each has its own reasons, but one thing is certain, the first center must be one of the two. Of course, Downs is also very good, the talent is not worse than Jokic and Embiid, this season the Timberwolves have also become the dark horse of the West, with a high probability of reaching the playoffs, but Downs is still far from Embiid and Jokic, there is still a big gap in strength. However, who is the league's number one center needs to speak with strength.
The best way to compare the strength of a player is to play. In this game, the Denver Nuggets will face the Philadelphia 76ers at home, and Jokic and Embiid will decide who is the league's number one center in this game, of course, this is still a direct dialogue between the biggest competitors in MVP this season. So, the importance of this game is self-evident.
Nuggets bench power
Playing at home, Embiid showed his ability to attack a kaleidoscope in the first quarter, hitting 2 three-pointers, as well as a mid-range jumper, 12 points, 1 assist and 1 steal on 4-of-6 shooting, and Sable also had 9 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists on 4-of-4 shooting, as well as 4 steals and 1 block. The 76ers dominated both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, not only scoring 37 points themselves, but also limiting the Nuggets to only 22 points, including Jokic with 6 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist. After returning from the second quarter, Jokic began to work, scoring 7 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists on 2-of-4 shooting, and the Nuggets also exploded for 31 points.
Embiid was plagued by fouls, with only one shot in a single quarter, 4 points and 2 rebounds, and the number of individual fouls reached 3. The Nuggets seized the opportunity and trailed 53-58 at halftime just five points behind the 76ers. In the second half, Jokic was 6 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, Embiid controlled his foul count well, got 13 points and 4 rebounds, the two were on a par, but Harden stood up and scored 12 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists, helping the 76ers to widen the point difference to 7 points again.
In the final quarter of the game, the Nuggets bench began to exert power, With Hyland hitting four three-pointers, Cousins 2, Rivers Jr. scoring 1 three-pointer, and Green also had six points and six rebounds on 3-of-4 shooting. Three points rained, the Nuggets immediately overtook the score, although Harden and Embiid teamed up to get 11 points in the last quarter, but in the end, the Denver Nuggets still reversed the Philadelphia 76ers 114-100, successfully rejected a 3-game losing streak.
Cousins also came to steal the scene
The Denver Nuggets won the game, and it was a 19-point reversal, which undoubtedly made 76ers head coach Rivers have to admit the fact that he is indeed the essence of human beings being reversed. However, Jokic's personal performance, compared with Embiid's, can only be said to be between Bo Zhong. Jokic shot 8 of 16, with 22 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks, and Embiid was 11 of 20 from the field, with 34 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks, Embiid was better in scoring, but on the organizational end, Jokic had the upper hand.
In the battle for the league's first center, Cousins also came to make a hilarious, played for 14 minutes, 8 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal on 3-of-6 shooting, plus or minus +13, far away from Jokic and Embiid. Many fans joked that the position of the league's first center, Cousins is still obsessed with it! James Harden had 24 points, 9 rebounds and 11 assists, and there was nothing to blame. The reason why the 76ers lost the game was that the adjustment ability in the final quarter was insufficient, so that the Nuggets had a three-point shot, and there was naturally no way.