Philadelphia beat the Celtics 106-96 today in a strong Eastern Conference matchup, avoiding back-to-back losses while overtaking the Bucks to return to first place in the East. Embiid cut 35 points and 6 rebounds in the game, and he had 20 free throws in the game, more than the Celtics' entire team with 18. Danny Green scored 17 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals, where his consecutive three-pointers were also key to the team's victory. This gave Philadelphia a season sweep of the Celtics for the first time in the last 20 years.
Embiid's performance after the game attracted a lot of attention, including the rival Celtics' young coach Stevens said: "Rob (Williams) has a very tough task... (Embiid) gives and takes to everyone on our team." It was clear that Embiid's performance and impact on his disciples today really convinced Stevens.
Even with 35 points, but still not back to his best for Embiid, he said after the game, "There's still a long way to go to get back to where I was before I got hurt, but tonight was a big step forward." It is evident how hot Embiid is and deserves to be the top candidate for MVP before his injury.
Philadelphia returned to first place in the East with a victory, and well-known NBA commentator Perkins also posted praise, saying, "I know the Bucks have a triumvirate of Durant, Harden, and Irving. But I'm telling you not to leave Philadelphia out of this, they're good enough to break out of the East."
It's also true that this season Philadelphia has shaken off the slump of previous seasons, with Embiid at his peak and Ben Simmons playing well, plus Howard and Danny Green, who won the championship last year, especially Danny Green, the team's starter and winner of the last two championships. There is also the old Rivers, who managed to activate Harris, plus Seth Curry and Korkmaz and other tough players, this Philadelphia is still very strong.
So there is a reason why Perkins praised Philadelphia as the biggest enemy of the Bucks, this time the first position in the East Bucks and Philadelphia to sit back and forth, but also look forward to their next performance, trying to stir up the Eastern landscape and achieve good results.