In the MVP match, Embiid prevails despite a career-high number of offensive rebounds from Nikola Jokic.

On Tuesday, January 16, 2024, in Philadelphia, during the opening tip of an NBA basketball game, Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers each reach for a rebound. 

Before the current campaign, the team that didn’t hold many records or accomplishments was, at the very least, responsible for two NBA records: the highest-scoring regulation game in history (320 points in 1990) and the highest-scoring game in history (370 points in 1983).

For the first half of a highly anticipated matchup between MVP centers, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, and company were moving along at a respectable clip with history. Eventually, though, they slowed down—somewhat. In the first of two meetings between teams who are fighting for the top spot in their respective conferences this month, the 76ers prevailed 126-121 on Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center.

Following a scoreless first half in which neither Denver nor Philadelphia could get a stop, the two teams traded haymakers in the second half. After trailing by eight points at the end of the third quarter, the Nuggets rallied for a 12-0 lead, but Embiid and the 76ers delivered the game-winning blow. With 8:41 left, Reggie Jackson made a 3-pointer off a pick-and-roll with backup big DeAndre Jordan, putting the hosts behind 111-105. After Marcus Morris’ game-tying 4-point play, Philly replied with a 16-2 run that culminated with Embiid’s three-pointer over Jokic with 4:53 remaining.

With 10 assists, 7 rebounds, and 41 points in the end, Embiid excelled. By the end of the third quarter, Jokic had a career-high 11 offensive rebounds in addition to his 25 points and 19 rebounds. Jamal Murray, who finished with 17 points and 10 assists, performed more of Denver’s passing.

At the break, both teams were out of breath following Murray’s buzzer-beater three, with the score at 78-78. Out of the starting ten, all of them were shooting over 50% from the field. In all, seven players scored in double figures, including Nuggets bench player Christian Braun. Although the 76ers were shooting more effectively as a unit, Jokic overcame this advantage by grabbing almost every Denver miss.

For most of the evening, Nick Nurse mixed up coverages by guarding Jokic with non-centers rather than Embiid, a move that was reminiscent of what he did with O.G. Anunoby while serving as Toronto’s coach the previous season. Jokic took advantage of the strategy by making the most impression on the glass, but he also gave up four of the team’s ten turnovers and missed two clear three-pointers while Denver was trying to rally. Michael Malone, the coach of the Nuggets, started Aaron Gordon on Embiid before Jokic.

The Nuggets struggled to get going before they could begin the first of five games on an 11-day road trip that would last the entire season. The team’s flight to Philadelphia, which was supposed to take off on Monday at noon local time, was forced to wait five hours on the tarmac after bad weather caused the engine of the aircraft to freeze. Upon arriving at their Philadelphia hotel, the Nuggets realized it was approximately 10:30 p.m. 

“We performed a few tunes. clasped hands,” Malone uttered. “We seized the opportunity. The moment of the nine hours.

All five of the Nuggets’ starting players were listed as questionable with different ailments on the team’s Monday night injury report as the flight delay grew longer. On game day, each was upgraded to probable, and Malone said prior to the game that there would be no time restrictions on any of their minutes. The nurse added that even with Philadelphia playing the second game of a back-to-back, there wouldn’t be on Embiid’s.

The story that made Nuggets supporters crazy the previous season—that Embiid is far too frequently conveniently unavailable for crucial games, including Philadelphia’s lone road game against Denver—was humorously twisted by the injury report chair-pull. Following the reigning MVP’s incredible evening, Ball Arena on January 27 will host the next test of that theory.