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'What a moment': Joel Embiid stuns NBA world with dramatic shot

Joel Embiid buried a three-pointer in the last second of overtime to earn the Philadelphia 76ers a 3-0 lead over the Toronto Raptors in the NBA playoffs. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)
Joel Embiid buried a three-pointer in the last second of overtime to earn the Philadelphia 76ers a 3-0 lead over the Toronto Raptors in the NBA playoffs. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)

Joel Embiid has broken the hearts of Toronto Raptors fans to hand the Philadelphia 76ers a commanding playoff series lead in dramatic fashion during overtime.

Three years after the 76ers suffered a soul-crushing series defeat on a miraculous Kawhi Leonard buzzer beater, Embiid took one more step towards squaring the ledger on Thursday.

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The MVP candidate buried a late shot clock three-pointer with less that one second to play in overtime to defeat the Raptors 104-101.

The shot capped a 33 point, 14 rebound effort from Embiid to edge one game closer to a series sweep, with Philadelphia holding a 3-0 lead heading into game four this weekend.

NBA fans couldn't believe what they saw from Embiid, after the Sixers trailed for almost the entire game before managing to force overtime.

Embiid drilled his final shot after catching an inbounds pass on the wing with the score tied at 101 with 2.6 seconds left on the clock.

Naturally, Embiid couldn't help but bully Canadian rapper and Raptors superfan Drake a bit on his way off the court, too.

"I'm coming for the sweep too," Embiid quipped, determined to win his way to the conference finals after years of playoff heartache.

He may not have had a chance at a real game-winner had it not been for a persistent effort from Sixers head coach Doc Rivers.

Raptors hearts broken after wild Embiid buzzer beater

On the Sixers' first chance at a game-winner, a loose ball ended with Embiid stuck in the corner and throwing up a prayer and needing some help, which came in the form of Rivers running down the court to get the officials' attention.

For a second, the Toronto crowd thought its team had forced double overtime, but the Sixers instead had 2.6 seconds to inbound the ball and score, just enough for Embiid.

That ending is a gut punch for a Raptors team that seemed well on its way to getting some ground back in this series.

Joel Embiid couldn't help but heckle Toronto Raptors superfan and rapper Drake after the 76ers' overtime win. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/NBAE via Getty Images)
Joel Embiid couldn't help but heckle Toronto Raptors superfan and rapper Drake after the 76ers' overtime win. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/NBAE via Getty Images)

Toronto led by as many as 17 points in the second quarter and held the lead for almost the entire game.

The Raptors' chances seemed good entering overtime as well after Sixers star James Harden fouled out at the end of overtime, but Embiid and Tyrese Maxey made every Sixers bucket to cover his absence.

Harden finished with 19 points, 10 assists and six rebounds on 7-of-13 shooting.

Should the Sixers win Sunday, they will face the winner of the series between the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks. Miami currently leads the series 2-0.

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