Embiid leads Philly to 2-1 series lead

PHIL A DELPHI A » Joel Embiid refused to get tripped up back home in the postseason, scoring 33 points and playing to the “MVP!” chants to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 116-95 victory over Toronto Raptors on Thursday night.

Philadelphia took a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Embiid also had 10 rebounds, shaking off a pair of passive games and became the driving force on offense the Sixers needed as they chase their first NBA championship since 1983.

He made the game his own in the third quarter and helped the Sixers put away a Raptors team badly overmatched outside of Kawhi Leonard’s one-man gang performance.

Embiid struck a chord when he buried a 3 in the third that stretched Philadelphia’s lead to 12. That was start of a string of plays that got Toronto’s attention. Embiid chased a loose ball and was tripped when Pascal Siakam intentionally stuck out his right leg and sent Philly’s All-Star tumbling to the court. The crowd went wild and Siakam was hit with a flagrant foul. Embiid made both free throws as fans — including some of Philadelphia’s biggest sports stars — serenaded him with chants of “MVP! MVP!”

Jimmy Butler, the Game 2 star, dunked off his own steal and the Sixers had quickly put the game out of reach. Butler had 22 points.

Embiid scored another layup and waved his arms and pointed with a smile as wide as the hoop. Embiid went 9 of 18 from the floor and made 12 of 13 free throws.

Hall of Famer Allen Iverson and rapper Meek Mill engaged in a lengthy embrace from the courtside seats as the Sixers got two wins from advancing.