Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers said Joel Embiid was spurred on after missing out on the NBA MVP award to produce a "dominant" performance in Tuesday's 118-102 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
Embiid posted 40 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and two steals for the top-seeded 76ers, who levelled their Eastern Conference semi-final series at 1-1 in the playoffs.
All-Star Embiid's 40-point haul was a personal playoffs career high as he became the first 76ers player with 40 points in a postseason game since Allen Iverson had 45 in 2003.
Embiid is also the first 76ers player with 40 points and 10 rebounds in a playoff game since Hall of Famer Billy Cunningham in 1970.
Rivers hailed Embiid's display after he finished second to Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic in the MVP race earlier on Tuesday.
"It was awesome," Rivers said during his post-game news conference. "I remember being on the other side of it the night David Robinson got the MVP and we had to play [Hakeen] Olajuwon.
"I was on that spurs team, that didn’t go well for us. Tonight you felt like that was Joel. He was that magnificent and dominant for us early on.
"It was absolutely a team effort but he set the tone for us. That's what he has to do."
Rivers lauded Philadelphia's collective effort, particularly in the second half, stretching their lead from four points to 18 when Embiid was benched at one stage.
"It was huge. You'd think it was the worst time to take Joel out," Rivers said. "We felt we'd need him down the stretch.
"The fact that the second unit, we could wait until seven minutes to put Joel back in and he's come back with an 18-point lead, that was absolutely wonderful."
Rivers reserved special praise for Shake Milton, who contributed 14 points off the bench, sparking the 76ers in the third quarter, as well as George Hill and Matisse Thybulle for their defensive efforts.
The series moves to Atlanta, with Game 3 on Friday.
"It was big because we lost Game 1," Rivers said. "We don't ever want to go down 2-0 in a series. It's 1-1, we have to go to Atlanta and get home court back."
Nikola Jokic admitted "I didn't even think I would be in the NBA" after being crowned the league's MVP in historic fashion on Tuesday.
Denver Nuggets star Jokic became the first player in franchise history to be named the Most Valuable Player and the lowest draft pick ever to receive the individual honour.
Jokic – the 41st overall selection in the 2014 NBA Draft – beat Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid (586) and Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry (453) to the award with 91 first-place votes and 971 total points.
In the regular season, Jokic averaged 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game – the combined total of 45.5 leading the NBA alongside triple-double king Russell Westbrook.
The Denver center shot 56.6 per cent from the field, 38.8 per cent from beyond the arc and 86.8 per cent from the free-throw line. No player to attempt 30 or more field goals across a season in NBA history has topped Jokic in all three metrics.
"To be honest, I didn't even think I would be in the NBA," said Jokic, who became the first player from Serbia to be named MVP, joining Dirk Nowitzki (Germany) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) as European winners.
"My goal when I started to play basketball back home, it was playing in Euroleague because that was kind of the closest top league to my country."
Jokic is the first center to win the MVP since Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal in 2000 and just the sixth center to claim the award since the three-point line was introduced in 1979-80.
"The Denver Nuggets drafted me, it was an opportunity for me to become an NBA player," Jokic said. "I think I did a good job of using that opportunity."
During a season in which a number of other superstars faced stretches on the sidelines with injuries, Jokic started all 72 games for the Denver Nuggets.
The Nuggets finished third and have since advanced to the Western Conference semi-finals, although they trail the Phoenix Suns after Game 1.
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said: "I'm so happy and respect so much the hard work and dedication that he’s put in to reach this point.
"I've been lucky enough to coach Nikola his entire career, and to see his growth from a second-round pick trying to learn the NBA to a perennial All-Star and now the MVP is truly extraordinary. He deserves this honour and I don't take for granted getting to coach a player, and more importantly a person like Nikola."
"Nikola's journey from the 41st pick in the draft to MVP is one of the most remarkable individual stories we have witnessed in sports," said Nuggets chairman Stanley Kroenke.
"His hard work, commitment and dedication to his craft, team and community are second to none. We couldn’t be more proud and fortunate to have him with us in Denver."
Nikola Jokic is the NBA MVP for 2020-21 after earning 91 first-place votes and 971 total points.
Jokic had previously been confirmed as a finalist alongside Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid and Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry but was long considered the clear favourite.
During a season in which a number of other superstars faced stretches on the sidelines with injuries, Jokic started all 72 games for the Denver Nuggets.
Embiid sustained a knee injury in March and Los Angeles Lakers great LeBron James went down with a high ankle sprain just eight days later.
Fitness issues robbed Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden of an unlikely run, too, while Curry saw off a tailbone concern but could only lift the Warriors to ninth in the west, as they lost consecutive play-in games to the Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies.
The Nuggets finished third and have since advanced to the Western Conference semi-finals, although they trail the Phoenix Suns after Game 1.
In the regular season, Jokic averaged 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game – the combined total of 45.5 leading the NBA alongside triple-double king Russell Westbrook.
The Denver center shot 56.6 per cent from the field, 38.8 per cent from beyond the arc and 86.8 per cent from the free-throw line. No player to attempt 30 or more field goals across a season in NBA history has topped Jokic in all three metrics.
Jokic – the first MVP from Serbia – had only once previously scored more than 20 points per game in a campaign since he was selected 41st overall in the 2014 NBA Draft.
Behind the Serbian, Embiid came second with 586 points, as Curry received 453 points.
Utah Jazz All-Star Mike Conley has been ruled out for Game 1 of the Western Conference semi-finals due to a right hamstring strain.
Conley was in doubt for the second-round opener against the Los Angeles Clippers after sustaining the injury in the Jazz's series-clinching Game 5 win over the Memphis Grizzlies last week.
The 33-year-old guard – who took only four shots in his last game, his lowest total in any of his 66 playoff games – will now watch from the sidelines as the top-seeded Jazz face the Clippers on Tuesday.
"Hopefully, we'll get him back as quickly as possible," Jazz head coach Quin Snyder said. "But those things are hard to predict."
Conley has been averaging 17.4 points, a postseason career-high 8.6 assists and 3.8 rebounds through five games in the playoffs.
During the regular season, Conley averaged 16.2 points, 6.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game.
The Jazz have won all three previous playoff series between these teams in 1992, 1997, and 2017. That is Utah's most playoff series wins without a loss against one opponent, and it is the Clippers' most losses without a victory against one foe.
The Jazz have scored 120 or more points in each of their last four games, tying the longest streak in team playoff history (first achieved last August). Utah have had five consecutive games of 120-plus points in the regular season only twice, in 1982 and 1984.
Chris Paul compared the Phoenix Suns to a wrestling tag team after they beat the Denver Nuggets 122-105 in their NBA playoffs semi-final opener.
In front of what Paul described as "crazy" home support, the Suns bossed the second half 65-47 to take first blood in the Western Conference last-four series.
Paul (21 points and 11 assists) and Deandre Ayton (20 points and 10 rebounds) fuelled the second-seeded Suns, who saw all of their starters finish with double-digit points – Devin Booker (21), Mikal Bridges (23) and Jae Crowder (14) making priceless contributions.
With the likes of Cameron Payne and Torrey Craig coming off the bench – the latter having nine points and eight rebounds in under 18 minutes on court – there are good grounds for optimism in the Suns ranks.
Paul said the key to the Suns second-half surge, after slipping 70-60 behind at one point, was "just playing with pace", and a vibrant home atmosphere, with Olympic swimming great Michael Phelps among the crowd.
"They got a nice little lead on us there in the third quarter," he said. "This crowd is crazy. It's crazy. To have the fans in there, the energy, there's nothing like it.
"I told the guys this is why we fought so hard during the regular season to get home-court advantage. I think we truly have that with our fanbase here."
For Denver, MVP favourite Nikola Jokic was limited to 22 points on 10-for-23 shooting, nine rebounds and three assists on the road.
Paul said the Suns have real character as a unit.
"It's fun to be on the team," he said. "It's almost like wrestling and you're tagging in.
"You go out of the game and there's no drop-off, there's just another unit coming in and keeping pressure on you.
"I think that's the benefit of having the team like we have."
The second game in the series takes place on Wednesday, again at the Phoenix Suns Arena.
While Paul praised others, Booker hailed Paul's contribution.
"We felt that energy. We felt that passion behind it," Booker said.
"He just made plays. Not only his scoring ability but getting everybody else involved. That's been the story of the season for us, following him in that regard."
Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant attempted to play down the team's obliteration of the Milwaukee Bucks, insisting "we just did what we were supposed to do".
Durant put on a show in the absence of fellow former MVP James Harden (hamstring) with 32 points in three quarters as the merciless Nets earned a commanding 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semi-finals on Monday.
The second-seeded Nets – who defeated Milwaukee in three consecutive home games for the first time since 2006-09 – led by as much as 49 points in their most lopsided postseason victory in franchise history.
Brooklyn, eyeing a maiden championship, became the first team since the 1987 Los Angeles Lakers to score at least 115 points in each of their last six playoff games.
The Nets – who set a franchise postseason record with 21 three-pointers – became the first team in playoff history to have an MVP winner (Harden) miss the game and yet still win by 35-plus points, according to Stats Perform.
"I liked our attention to detail," Durant said afterwards. "We didn't get a lot of plays perfect, but we made second and third efforts.
"They didn't destroy us on offensive rebounds so that showed we were boxing out.
"For the most part, we just did what we were supposed to do at home. Now we have to see if this game can travel on the road for us, and we gotta stay locked in."
Game 3 will be in Milwaukee on Thursday and Durant added: "I feel like that's every team's mentality if you got home court.
"We know how important Game 3's are and we know that their crowd is going to be in it from the second we get on the floor for warm-ups and we know their guys they play better and more comfortable when they sleep in their own beds and got their same routines at home. So we got our work cut out for us but we're looking forward to it."
Kyrie Irving had 22 points of his own at home to the third-seeded Bucks in Brooklyn.
''I think we're capable of greatness every single night,'' Irving said.
On the offensive unselfishness of the Nets, Irving added: "That's how you play the game the right way. You know, we are very special individually but the selflessness which you're referring to is really what creates the difference.
"Defense is going to win us games down the stretch, but offensively playing the right way and trusting one another is — those little plays that make the difference towards the end of the game where we don't have to go for it all right then and there wherever the score is.
"So, like I said, this team, we've grown so much and we continue to do so. Obviously, we're missing James. You know, and we're just filling in the pieces for him."
Giannis Antetokounmpo is continuing to believe, despite the Milwaukee Bucks falling into a 2-0 hole following a demoralising defeat to the Brooklyn Nets in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
Antetokounmpo and the Bucks were no match for the star-studded and James Harden-less Nets, who showed no mercy in a devastating 125-86 victory in the NBA playoffs on Monday.
The third-seeded Bucks trailed by as much as 49 points in a forgettable game in Brooklyn, where two-time reigning MVP Antetokounmpo finished with 18 points on eight-for-15 shooting and 11 rebounds.
Antetokounmpo and the bruised Bucks will return to Milwaukee for Game 3 on Thursday, but their superstar remains upbeat in pursuit of the franchise's first championship since 1971.
"It's easy," Antetokounmpo replied when asked how he could prevent his team-mates from losing confidence. "That's what I do.
"I don't get too high, I don't get too low. After the Miami series, we were up 4-0, and coming to this series, I wasn't high.
"Now that we're down 2-0, I'm not low. I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing, keep trusting my work, keep trusting my team-mates, keep believing in the team, keep believing in the habits we've built all year, and hopefully in Game 3 we get a win."
The Bucks were easily beaten by the Miami Heat in the second round of last season's playoffs, while Milwaukee are yet to progress beyond the Eastern Conference semi-finals (2019, 2001, 1986, 1984, 1983) since 1973-74.
"It's an opportunity," Antetokounmpo said. "At the end of the day, we have to take care of business, and take it a game at a time. I do not want to hear we got to win two at home.
"We got to win one at home. We've got to win the first game. We've got to get Game 3 and try to give everything we can to get that one, and then Game 4 try to do the same thing. But we have to focus on Game 3 right now."
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