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Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers (Getty Images via AFP)
LOS ANGELES — Philadelphia big man Joel Embiid outplayed two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic on Saturday, pouring in 47 points to lead the 76ers to a 126-119 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Embiid, who was runner-up to Jokic in MVP voting two seasons ago, also grabbed 18 rebounds to help the Sixers overcome a 15-point first-half deficit to win their seventh straight.
Embiid, who also could not be selected as the All-Star Game starter this week, insisted that the matchup was not about a personal rivalry with Jokic, but about the 76ers trying to take on the top team in the Western Conference.
“It’s not a rivalry,” he told the ABC broadcaster. “I love the big guys, man. Two-time MVP, one of the best players in the league. I’m a big fan.
“(We) just want to come out here (against) the best team in the West, see where we’re at,” Embiid added. “I think we have a chance.”
The 76ers improved to 32-16, two games behind the league-leading Boston Celtics atop the Eastern Conference.
At 34-16, the Nuggets are two and a half games ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies in the West.
Embiid was everywhere in the second half, a pull-back jumper tied the score at 110-110 with 5:48 left.
After being blocked by Jamal Murray, Embiid scored on a fastbreak to put the 76ers up for good, and he drained a step-back three-pointer over Jokic that pushed Philadelphia’s lead to 125-117 with 30.1 seconds to play.
James Harden added 17 points and 13 assists while Tobias Harris and Georges Niang added 14 points each for Philadelphia.
“There’s a reason we’ve won 20 of our last 24 games,” Embiid said. “We just did it as a team. He believed in me, I believed in him and we just made plays for each other.
Jokic led the Nuggets with 24 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. Jamal Murray added 22 points, but after building a big lead, Denver couldn’t match Philadelphia’s energy in the third quarter and Embiid took over on the opening drive.
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