The Philadelphia 76ers are one win away from reaching the Eastern Conference semifinals. On Wednesday, 76ers center Joel Embiid of Yaounde, Cameroon accomplished something he has never done before in the regular season or playoffs. That was to make the game-winning shot in the final second of a NBA game.
Embiid’s game-winning three-point shot came with eight tenths of a second left in overtime. Embiid received a pass from teammate Danny Green, and scored from 27 feet to break a 101-101 deadlock, give the 76ers a 104-101 win over the Toronto Raptors, and put Philadelphia up three games to none in the best out of seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal. Ironically, Green was with the Raptors when they won the NBA Finals in 2019.
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Centers in the NBA are not generally known for their production from beyond the arc. However, Embiid came through with his 44th three-point postseason shot made. That is the ninth most three-point shots made by a center in NBA playoff history. Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets is number one on the list with 84 and counting.
There were some other interesting storylines from game three. Philadelphia was playing catchup the whole game, and did not have the lead until overtime. In the extra five minutes, Philadelphia did not have James Harden on the floor, as he fouled out in the fourth quarter. Also leading top to Embiid’s final shot, Philadelphia head coach Doc Rivers sprinted down the court to signal for a timeout. That gave Philadelphia an opportunity to set up the play.
