Tuesday night's 111-109 victory over the Boston Celtics was special for a number of reasons for Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid.
To begin, the league MVP candidate made his campaign more convincing, single handily defeating the Celtics, who granted were undermanned, with a 52-point clinic. Embiid went 20-of-25 from the field, taking just one 3-point attempt, along with 13 rebounds and six assists, helping Philadelphia avoid a season series sweep against Boston.
Surpassing Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan, who dropped 46 points on the Celtics on Nov. 4, Embidd notched the highest-scoring performance from an opponent against Boston this season.
But that wasn't all.
Embiid's points total for the season reached 2,162, which was the most scored by a center in a single season since Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal scored 2,344 during his MVP campaign in 2000 with the Los Angeles Lakers, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
"I thought he just had a great night and we weren't tremendous on the offensive end like we normally are," Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters, as seen on NBC Sports Boston's postgame coverage.
The six-time All-Star also became just the second player in NBA history to score 50 points, grab 10 rebounds and dish out five assists while also shooting at least 80% from the field since Basketball Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain -- who's done so twice -- according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Needless to say, the argument against Embiid for league MVP won't be easy. In fact, that display against the Celtics might've shut the door for good.
Embiid is now averaging a career-high 33.3 points alongside 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists while shooting 54.7% from the field and 32.8% from 3-point territory.
Last season, Embiid finished second in MVP voting, totaling 706 points with 26 first-place votes, falling to Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, who is also up for consideration this season once again.
