Top Takeaways from Giannis, Bucks vs. James Harden, Joel Embiid, 76ers
The Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers stepped into their Tuesday night tussle as two of the top heavyweights in the NBA's Eastern Conference.
It should have surprised no one, then, that the teams turned the highly anticipated matchup into a championship-level prizefight.
Baskets and leads were traded back-and-forth, and each side at one point held a double-digit advantage. In the end, though, the Bucks escaped Wells Fargo Center with a 118-116 victory that wasn't sealed until Giannis Antetokounmpo blocked Joel Embiid's putback attempt with less than two seconds remaining.
Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 40 points (on 16-of-24 shooting) and stuffed the rest of his stat sheet with 14 rebounds, six assists, three blocks and a steal. Khris Middleton added 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and Jrue Holiday nearly tallied a triple-double with 18 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
James Harden paced Philadelphia with 32 points, nine assists and five rebounds. Embiid added 29 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, and Tobias Harris netted 22 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three steals.
Giannis' MVP Argument Is Louder Than We All Think
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The MVP race has long been treated as a two-man showdown between Embiid and Nikola Jokic.
Are we sure Giannis Antetokounmpo doesn't belong in that discussion?
The two-time MVP has never averaged more points (29.9) or posted a higher player efficiency rating (32.4, per Basketball Reference). His 11.4 box plus/minus and 0.290 win shares per 48 minutes are both the second-best of his career.
His numbers are right there with Jokic's and Embiid's. Antetokounmpo leads the best team of the three—by winning percentage (.627) and net rating (plus-3.6, per NBA.com).
Antetokounmpo should arguably be right there with the others in terms of MVP support. Yet, when ESPN's Tim Bontemps polled 100 media members recently, Antetokounmpo's nine first-place votes made him a distant third behind Jokic (62) and Embiid (29).
Not that Antetokounmpo's resume needed it, but maybe his MVP moment on Tuesday could send more attention his way.
James Harden Needed That
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No, Harden couldn't deliver the game-winner, but he otherwise stepped up in a big game—something he hadn't really done yet for Philadelphia.
Considering the statistical standards he has set, this wasn't quite a bonkers box score for him, but given the significance of the contest, this was as good as he's been in quite some time.
As The Athletic's Rich Hofmann put it, Harden "played perhaps his best game against a title contender that was giving some real effort."
Harden needed this. There's a narrative that he shrinks in big moments, and some early tests with the Sixers hadn't exactly silenced it. He shot 5-of-15 against the Chicago Bulls on March 7, went a disastrous 3-of-17 in a highly anticipated bout with the Brooklyn Nets three days later and misfired on nine of his 11 field-goal attempts against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.
For a franchise that had just bet the farm on his ability to serve as a championship-caliber co-star, it wasn't the most encouraging stuff.
If Tuesday night's effort was his light-bulb moment, though, it would be hard to overstate its importance. This version of Harden—efficient with his shot, hard to handle off the dribble, decisive with his dimes—looks every bit like the second-best player on a contender.
