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Sports

Shohei Ohtani pitches gem in Angels’ walk-off win

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ANAHEIM — Somehow, Shohei Ohtani keeps managing to ascend to new heights.

Brandishing the new sinker he recently started incorporating, the two-way star looked as dominant as ever on Saturday night at Angel Stadium, throwing eight innings of one-run ball in the Angels’ 2-1 win over the Astros in 12 innings. In the process, Ohtani reached 400 career Major League strikeouts while also setting a career high in MLB innings pitched with 136 (surpassing his total of 130 1/3 in 2021).

Ohtani’s 403 strikeouts across parts of four Major League seasons are in addition to the 624 he recorded during his five seasons in NPB.

“He was incredible,” interim manager Phil Nevin said. “For me, it was probably his best outing of the year, just considering where we were, the way the game was going. Even the run was a soft contact. He was really good. Really, really good.”

That sinker was a big part of Ohtani’s success against the team with the best record in the American League. After throwing it 13 times in his previous two starts combined, he threw it 18 times on Saturday. It was working for him in a way it had not before, with Ohtani himself describing the pitch as “nasty.”

“I mean, you can see it,” said Nevin. “It’s got 17-18 inches of run across the plate, and it’s still at 98-99 miles an hour. That’s a pretty tough pitch to handle for any hitter, [and] certainly as a right-handed hitter.”

“I felt really good about it, for the most part,” said Ohtani. “Gave up a couple hits, but I was able to locate it where I wanted to and I was able to throw a lot of them, so that was really good.”

The sole blemish on Ohtani’s line came in the top of the fifth, when Trey Mancini hit a two-out double and scored on a base hit by J.J. Matijevic. But after working out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth and throwing a clean top of the seventh, Ohtani had enough in the tank to go back out for the eighth inning. For the second time this season and fourth time in his career, he made it through eight, working around Jose Altuve’s one-out double to keep the game tied at 1.

The 111 pitches were a season high for the right-hander, who lowered his ERA to 2.58, which ranks fifth among qualified American League starters.

“You can see it on his face sometimes when it’s another level on top of the level that he gets to already,” said Nevin. “I mean, you saw him get up over 100 miles an hour there in the seventh and eighth, so he certainly can reach back and has that gear.”

This comes on the heels of Ohtani becoming the first player in AL/NL history to hit 30 or more home runs in a season while also winning 10 or more games, which he accomplished on Wednesday. His five strikeouts on Saturday brought his total on the season to 181; with 19 more, he will also be the first player in AL/NL history with 200 strikeouts as a pitcher and 30 home runs as a hitter.

He has thrown more than 136 innings in a season in Japan, but with a few more starts he could set an all-around personal high.

The Angels only cobbled together one run during the first nine innings, with Luis Rengifo scoring on Ryan Aguilar’s sacrifice fly in the seventh for Aguilar’s first career RBI. But José Quijada, Jimmy Herget and Ryan Tepera combined for four scoreless innings, setting the stage for Matt Duffy’s walk-off single in the bottom of the 12th on a ball that bounced before hitting the glove of diving center fielder Mauricio Dubón.

It was Duffy’s first career walk-off with the Angels, which was made extra sweet by the fact that it salvaged Ohtani’s stellar start. Duffy even took the opportunity to weigh in on the heated Ohtani-vs.-Aaron Judge AL MVP debate.

“People were talking about Judge for MVP, and I’m just like, he’s got to break [Roger] Maris’ record to even be in the conversation for me,” said Duffy. “Some people might think that’s ridiculous in New York, I’m sure. But [Ohtani] does it on both sides of the ball.

“… I mean, it’s insane. There really are no words for it. And there’s a reason why nobody’s done it since Babe Ruth, I guess. But how exceptional he is on two sides of the ball, it’s just, you run out of words, because there are none.”

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Sports

Albert Pujols’ pinch-hit grand slam backs fellow 40-something Adam Wainwright’s gem for St. Louis Cardinals

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ST. LOUIS — Albert Pujols launched a pinch-hit grand slam and drove in five runs, Adam Wainwright pitched seven sharp innings and the St. Louis Cardinals routed the Colorado Rockies 13-0 Thursday for a three-game sweep.

“We’re playing right now, I think the way that we were expecting ourselves to play early in the year,” Pujols said. “We didn’t, but we had some glimpses here and there. Now we’re playing the best baseball we have played all year long.”

Wainwright called Pujols “incredible.”

“He looks the same as when he left to me,” Wainwright said. “This is what he’s supposed to look like, here, this stadium, doing these things.”

According to Elias Sports Bureau, the Cardinals are the first team in big league history to have a player at least 40 years old hit a grand slam and another at least 40 to pitch seven shutout innings in the same game. Pujols is 42, 2 years older than Wainwright.

The NL Central-leading Cardinals won their fourth in a row and sent Colorado to its fifth straight loss. St. Louis has won 12 of its past 13 home games and has taken 12 straight from the Rockies at Busch Stadium.

Pujols hit his 690th career home run, connecting off Austin Gomber and capping a five-run third that made it 10-0. It was Pujols’ 16th career grand slam — his first as a pinch hitter — and it moved him into a tie with Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Dave Kingman for 10th-most slams of all time.

He became the first player to hit a pinch-hit grand slam within the first three innings of a game since the Yankees’ Bobby Murcer on July 25, 1971, against the Brewers

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said he went with the unconventional decision to pinch hit Pujols in the third inning for designated hitter Brendan Donovan because he liked the matchup against Gomber.

“He’s been killing lefties,” Marmol said. “The game’s never over, but you can put the game away there with a good swing and it’s always good to get the crowd engaged. We felt good about it and he did his job.”

Pujols added an RBI single.

“I think at the end of the day, just being part of a great organization, a great group of guys that want to win, young players they’re watching, I’m blessed to be here, and just help those guys out,” Pujols said. “It’s fun, trust me.”

Wainwright (10-9) gave up three hits, two of them infield singles. He struck out seven, walked none and retired his final 13 batters.

“My job today it was just to not mess it up,” he said. “The offense was the story. They were incredible you know and Albert hitting the grand slam, I mean we’re just kind of like living in his shadow right, which is where we should be.”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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World

Alaçati: Discovering Western Turkey’s Hidden Gem

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(CNN) — A brass band fills the air with lively Turkish music as it marches down a cobblestone street. Tourists and locals alike clap and dance, packing the main square.

The musicians are dressed in turquoise uniforms with gold epaulettes — colors that match the azure-blue of the Aegean waters of Alaçatı, located on the Cesme peninsula in western Turkey (or Türkiye).

With its rustic stone houses with vibrantly painted wooden doors, winding streets filled with upscale restaurants, modern art galleries and boutique stores, Alaçatı has all the hallmarks of a typical Mediterranean town, albeit with an effortless Turkish charm.

Turkish holidaymakers have been flocking to this picturesque destination, situated about an hour’s drive southwest from Izmir, since a revival took place in the early 2000s. But international visitors are just playing catch up.

Everywhere you turn, people are sipping on Turkish tea in the town’s open-air cafes, taking in the fresh air and sunshine.

Colorful town

Alacati’s cobbled alleyways are filled with brightly colored houses.

Murat TopayAdobe Stock

And it’s not just holidaymakers who’ve been won over — windsurfers have also become a fixture here due to the strong, year-round winds of the nearby bay, making Alaçatı the self-proclaimed windsurfing capital of Turkey.

“The air that you breathe here is precious,” says Perihan Akbulut, who runs the Kurabiye Hotel, which is a few minutes walk from the stunning Kurabiye Stone House.

“There is always a breeze that makes you feel better — even if it is so hot during summer months.”

CNN’s Richard Quest travels to western Turkey to discover why they call Izmir the “Pearl of the Aegean”.

Kurabiye Hotel could easily be confused with a boutique Aegean guest house thanks to its whitewashed walls and blue doors.

Akbulut moved here from Istanbul in 2009 and opened the hotel, which has a courtyard adorned with a lemon garden at its center, the following year.

She and her husband now live between the two destinations — enjoying big city life during the winter and retreating to the pretty town for the summer season.

“It is so easy — or let’s say simple — to organize your life, here in Alaçatı,” she adds.

“But that’s exactly why it appeals to me; it’s a place where you don’t have to think too much about what to do and where to go.”

Hidden within Izmir’s Kemeralti bazaar is Synagogues Street and it’s getting a revamp

Premier produce

The Alacati Herb Festival, which aims showcases herbs of the region, is held in the town each spring.

Berkcan Zengin/GocherImagery/MediaPunch/IPX/AP

Alaçatı has been through many reinventions over the years. It was mostly swampland up until the mid-19th century, when authorities had it drained to rid the area of marshes that bred malaria-causing mosquitoes.

Greek workers from nearby islands settled here to farm the vineyards and olive groves, and the region continues to be the premier wine-making and olive-oil producing region in Turkey.

Like other towns in the area, Alaçatı was largely abandoned in the 1920s, after Turkey and Greece engaged in a religion-based population exchange. Many of its stone houses lay discarded for decades and fell into disrepair.

But it has experienced a sea change of sorts in the last 20 years. Eagle-eyed visitors from across the country spotted an opportunity to buy holiday homes here, breathing new life into the town.

Locals often boast about the region’s produce and artisanal food, and on Saturday’s, market stalls heaving with fruit and vegetables, fresh bread, and seafood line the town’s main artery, Kemalpaşa Street and extend up numerous side streets.

Each spring, the Alaçatı Herb Festival, an annual event showcasing the natural herbs that grow in Alaçatı and the nearby coastal town of Çesme, attracts hordes of visitors to the area.

“Everything is so reachable,” adds Akbulut. “Delicious food, fresh vegetables and fruit, natural herbs and seafood.

“It is a good combination of local people and new settlers. You can never feel lonely here.”

‘Heaven on Earth’

Alacati is just a short drive from the beaches along the Cesme peninsula, including the stunning Ilica beach.

Emin Menguarslan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

This region of the eastern Mediterranean is steeped with history. The ancient ruins of Ephesus, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, can be found just an hour’s drive to the south of Alacatı.

Based near the Aegean Sea and modern-day Selçuk, it remains one of Christianity’s most revered sites and is home to some of Turkey’s best archaeological wonders including the Temple of Hadrian, built in honor of Roman Emperor Hadrian.

Meanwhile, the thermal pools of Pamukkale, which literally translates to “cotton castle” and can be mistaken for a cluster of angelic clouds if viewed at the right angle, are just a few hours away by car.

The ancient city of Ephesus is undoubtedly on of Turkey’s great wonders. But a short drive away is a small village with a lot of charm.

Tourists have been coming to this popular site of ancient travertines, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, for centuries.

The well-preserved ruins of the Hierapolis ancient city, once a healing center, are among its highlights, along with the Pamukkale Antique Pool, also known as Cleopatra’s Pool, where Egyptian Queen Cleopatra is believed to have once swam.

And for those who’d rather stay closer to town, a trip to the hot thermal springs of Ilica beach, where the water remains shallow for the first 100 meters or so from shore, will not disappoint.

“We call this place ‘Heaven on Earth’,” Çesme Mayor Ekrem Oran tells CNN while admiring the herbs at Alaçatı’s Saturday market.

Judging from the faces of those around, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who’d disagree with this sentiment.

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Technology

$15,000 Later, Diablo Immortal Player Has His Legendary Gem

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Image: Blizzard

The last time we checked in on streamer Quin and his attempts to buy his way to glory in Diablo Immortal, he had spent $6600 and not attained a single 5-star Legendary Gem. I am happy (?) to report that, after more than doubling his investment, he finally has his loot.

As I wrote earlier in the month:

You would think that after a while you’d eventually get some of the game’s best gear, a 5-star Legendary Gem, because that’s how the law of averages works, right? Wrong! As Quin69 has clearly proven here, the law of averages is inherently cruel and unpredictable, which is why bookmakers have been taking advantage of it since the dawn of time, and why games like Diablo Immortal are built on predatory economic models designed to exploit people’s most dangerous and vulnerable psychological impulses.

That was then! This is now, and Quin has since posted that after spending NZD$25,165 (USD$15,818) on the game—with NZD$10,000 of that coming in a single stream—he has his 5-star Legendary Gem:

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Save $1000

85″ Class QN800B Samsung Neo QLED 8K Smart TV (2022)

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The Smart TV utilizes a feature called Real Depth Enhancer which can increase the contrast of elements in the foreground the way the human eye processes depth, making the content you watch richer than ever before.

Remember, simply buying your way to these items isn’t the only way you can get them, and as we’ve seen here is indeed the worst way, but that’s not the point. The point here is that having it as an option at all is one of the reasons predatory game economies suck!

As Kotaku AU wrote when reporting on his “achievement”:

Quin has certainly drawn his share of criticism throughout the experiment. His reckless spending and bursts of white-hot anger after failed drops caused many to wonder about his emotional stability. Others, even in our comments, were unhappy to see him giving Blizzard exactly what it wanted: his money. In the end, though, he proved his point. Chasing five-star Legendary Gems is a fool’s errand, a system designed to clear out bank accounts while giving very little back to the player.

Anyway, thanks for your service, Quin69. You can now stop playing Diablo Immortal for good.

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Sports

Shohei Ohtani’s homer, pitching gem help snap Los Angeles Angels’ 14-game losing streak

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ANAHEIM, Calif. — Shohei Ohtani was facing only his second batter, and Phil Nevin, in his third night as the Los Angeles Angels’ interim manager, sensed something special might be afoot. He turned to his pitching coach, Matt Wise, and relayed his intuition.

“He’s got that look, doesn’t he?” Nevin said.

The Angels were struggling, floundering, and Ohtani — the anchor of a team suffering through the loss of Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon and Taylor Ward — delivered for them. His seven one-run innings and his well-timed home run propelled the Angels to a 5-2 victory against a red-hot Boston Red Sox team on Thursday night and ended their franchise-record-setting losing streak at 14 games.

It was the type of performance the Angels desperately needed.

It was the type of performance only Ohtani could provide.

“Shohei was unbelievable,” Trout said. “As always.”

The Angels’ losing streak was the longest ever for a team with a reigning MVP on its roster, passing the 13 straight by the 1985 Chicago Cubs of Ryne Sandberg and the 11 straight by the 1995 Houston Astros of Jeff Bagwell. But Ohtani, who won the American League’s Most Valuable Player Award unanimously last season, made sure it didn’t extend further. He became the fifth player since 1900 and the first since 1969 to hit a home run and earn a win in the victory that snapped a losing streak of at least 10 games, according to research by the Elias Sports Bureau.

“Obviously, definitely wanted to win this one,” Ohtani said through his interpreter. “Especially on the days I pitch — I just wanted to put the team in a spot to have a chance to win, and I felt like I was able to do that today.”

Coming off allowing nine runs in nine innings over his previous two starts, Ohtani limited the Red Sox — who were winners of seven in a row heading in — to six baserunners and generated 18 swings and misses, 15 more than he accumulated seven days earlier against the New York Yankees. He set a new season high in pitches (100) and fastball velocity (101 mph), and he also seemed to come alive offensively.

Ohtani slashed only .192/.333/.383 during the Angels’ 14-game losing streak, but he gave them a 2-1 lead with an opposite-field two-run homer in the fifth and added a line-drive single in the seventh. Andrew Velazquez, a light-hitting middle infielder who was riding an 0-for-22 slump, broke the game open with a three-run homer in the sixth, sending the Angels to their first win since May 24, when the team stood 10 games above .500.

The Angels’ postgame celebrations at home have been especially boisterous this season, complete with strobe lights, fire pits and giveaways. The prolonged absence of one elevated Thursday’s to another level.

“It felt like we won a playoff game today,” Velazquez said. “Just a big relief.”

The Angels’ losing streak was the longest for a team that was at least 10 games above .500 when that streak began, according to Elias. Only three teams have ever made the postseason despite a double-digit losing streak — the 2017 Los Angeles Dodgers, the 1982 Atlanta Braves and the 1951 New York Giants, none of whom dropped more than 11 straight.

The Angels, who abruptly fired Joe Maddon as their manager on Tuesday, are currently three games below .500 and 2½ games back of the sixth and final playoff spot in the American League, but they believe they can get back to resembling the team that dominated the first six weeks.

“We know what we’re capable of,” Velazquez said. “We have the same guys in here.”

The Angels outscored opponents by 53 runs through their first 44 games but were outscored by a combined 45 over their next 14.

Trout navigated through a career-worst 26-game hitless stretch, then tweaked his groin on Tuesday night. Rendon (wrist) and Ward (hamstring) landed on the injured list, robbing the Angels of the menacing top of the lineup that made them such a force for most of April and half of May. Ohtani struggled, the bullpen imploded, the starters couldn’t pitch deep into games and a short-handed offense consistently failed to score runs.

The Angels lost three consecutive one-run games to the Toronto Blue Jays, then were outscored 17-3 by the Yankees. The Philadelphia Phillies swept them in a three-game series, capturing the finale on the strength of Bryce Harper’s eighth-inning grand slam. Then the Red Sox won three consecutive one-run games, two of which saw the Angels get shut out.

It gave Nevin his first win as a major league manager — and it ultimately earned him the game ball.

“Shohei gave it to me,” Nevin said. “That was neat.”

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Sports

Shohei Ohtani’s homer, pitching gem help snap Los Angeles Angels’ 14-game losing streak

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ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Los Angeles Angels desperately needed a win, and Shohei Ohtani provided it almost singlehandedly.

Ohtani pitched seven innings of one-run ball against the red-hot Boston Red Sox and delivered a crucial home run, leading the Angels to a 5-2 victory that snapped a franchise-record 14-game losing streak on Thursday night.

The Angels’ streak was the longest ever for a team with a reigning MVP on its roster, passing the 13 straight by the 1985 Chicago Cubs of Ryne Sandberg and the 11 straight by the 1995 Houston Astros of Jeff Bagwell. But Ohtani, who won the American League’s Most Valuable Player Award unanimously last season, made sure it didn’t extend further.

Coming off allowing nine runs in nine innings over his previous two starts, Ohtani limited the Red Sox — winners of seven in a row heading in — to six baserunners and generated 18 swings and misses, 15 more than he accumulated seven days earlier against the New York Yankees. He set a new season high in pitches (100) and fastball velocity (101 mph), and he also seemed to come alive offensively.

Ohtani slashed only .192/.333/.383 during the Angels’ 14-game losing streak, but he gave them a 2-1 lead with an opposite-field two-run homer in the fifth and added a line-drive single in the seventh. Andrew Velazquez, a light-hitting middle infielder who was riding an 0-for-22 slump, broke the game open with a three-run homer in the sixth, sending the Angels to their first win since May 24, when the team stood 10 games above .500.

The Angels’ losing streak was the longest for a team that was at least 10 games above .500 when that streak began, according to research by Elias Sports Bureau. Only three teams have ever made the postseason despite a double-digit losing streak — the 2017 Los Angeles Dodgers, the 1982 Atlanta Braves and the 1951 New York Giants, none of whom dropped more than 11 straight.

The Angels, who abruptly fired Joe Maddon as their manager on Tuesday, are currently three games below .500 and 2 1/2 games back of the sixth and final playoff spot in the American League.

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Sports

Chris Bassitt pitches another gem in Mets’ home-opening win

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Chris Bassitt has been everything the Mets envisioned, perhaps more, since his acquisition from the Athletics at the start of spring training.

In his first career start at Citi Field, the 2021 All-Star continued to excel in a rotation thriving without injured ace Jacob deGrom. Bassitt stifled the Diamondbacks over six breezy innings of one-run ball Friday in the Mets’ 10-3 win in their home opener.

Bassitt allowed one run on two hits, with two walks and six strikeouts over 98 pitches, one start after tossing six shutout innings in his team debut last Saturday in Washington.

“Yeah, it’s awesome,” Bassitt said. “A lot more obstacles to work through. But you always want to win the first one.”

Similar to complaints by Yankees ace Gerrit Cole about brief delays at their home opener in The Bronx last week, the 33-year-old Bassitt (2-0, 0.75 ERA) mentioned the pregame festivities throwing him off slightly in the first inning.

“The timing is never right. You’re supposed to be starting at 1:10, and that never happens,” he said. “So it’s more so just how do you gauge everything? But it is what it is, and you know it going in.”

Chris Bassitt
N.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg

Mets manager Buck Showalter believed Bassitt also might have looked “too strong” at the start, perhaps from an extra day of rest between starts. But following a one-out double by Ketel Marte and a subsequent walk to David Peralta in the opening frame, Bassitt struck out cleanup hitter Christian Walker before retiring Pavin Smith on a pop-up to squelch the threat.

Bassitt, who finished last season with a 12-4 mark and a 3.15 ERA over 27 starts for the A’s, didn’t allow another hit until Daulton Varsho homered to right leading off the sixth. The Ohio native departed that completed inning to a standing ovation from the fans behind the Mets’ dugout.

“I try to tune it out, no matter what. I feel like the emotions of all that you just try to stay even-keeled, basically,” Bassitt said about the crowd reaction. “I try to make it a normal day and not make the moment bigger than it should be.”

With Carlos Carrasco slated to pitch Saturday, the Mets’ starting staff — also featuring imported future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer — sports a league-best 1.32 ERA through a 6-2 start with deGrom opening the season on the injured list due to a shoulder issue.

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Sports

Anderson throws a gem, Ozzie makes history in Braves 9-2 win

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Ian Anderson pitched an absolute gem and homers from Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies, Freddie Freeman and (sort of) Adam Duvall powered the Braves to a 9-2 victory over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday evening.

The Braves got on the board first, but the series of events that led to those runs was anything but ordinary. After a leadoff walk and a double from Freddie “Defending MVP” Freeman, Ozzie Albies drove the first run home on a sac fly to give the Braves a 1-0 lead. A single from Austin Riley would put runners on the corners for Adam Duvall who proceeded to hit a three-run homer.

Or at least so we thought.

Austin Riley, who was at first, was not sure if the ball had been caught (it was a close play on a ball that barely got out) and Duvall passed him on the basepaths as a result. Despite the fact that it was a homer, the rules are the rules and Duvall was awarded a single and called out while Riley and Freeman scored which made it a 3-0 Atlanta lead. It is an incredibly stupid rule in that situation, but it is what it is.

Ian Anderson would then take the mound in the bottom half of the inning for the Braves and a walk followed by an RBI double from Kole Calhoun would let the Diamondbacks get a run back, but no more damage was done.

In the top of the second, Austin must have felt bad for that run that ultimately didn’t cross the plate because of the weirdness in the first that he made sure to get it back with his 31st homer of the season to make it a 4-1 Braves lead.

Ian Anderson went into cruise control over the next few innings and the Braves would be the next to strike thanks to a little help from Ozzie Albies. In the fifth inning, Freddie Freeman would connect for a two-out double and then Ozzie hit home run #30 on the season to make it a 6-1 lead. That also put Albies at 100 RBI for the season which put him in some rare company.

As for what Ian Anderson was up to, he was busy absolutely mowing down the Diamondbacks after that rocky first inning. Through the sixth inning, he had retired 14 in a row and looked like the pitcher that the Braves had hoped he would be coming back from injury. His final line for the evening was 7 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, and 8 K. Not too shabby. Not too shabby at all.

Things got more interesting than the Braves wanted in the eighth inning. Chris Martin got the call from the bullpen and he immediately gave up a solo homer to Christian Walker and by the time he exited, there were runners on first and third with two outs. Fortunately, Luke Jackson came in to face Ketel Marte and after an eight pitch battle, Luke emerged the victor with a swinging strike three.

The Braves would add some insurance in the top half of the ninth inning. After one out hits from William Contreras and Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler would get a run across with a sac fly. Freddie would then get in on the fun with a two-run homer, his 31st of the year, to stretch the lead to 9-2. Sean Newcomb would get the bottom of the ninth and after giving up a two-out single to David Peralta, he retired Christian Walker on a lineout to end the game.



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Sports

Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid states case for defensive hardware in all-around gem vs. Utah Jazz

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12:53 AM ET

  • Tim BontempsESPN

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid said his dominant performance in a 131-123 win over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night was fueled by playing against Rudy Gobert.

Embiid, who had 40 points — including the game-tying 3-pointer with 6.5 seconds left to go with 19 rebounds, three assists, a steal and two blocks in 40 minutes — told ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan in December that Gobert shouldn’t have been third-team All-NBA last season over him. He also has said repeatedly he wants to win Defensive Player of the Year — an award Gobert is favored to win this season — and took exception to local media members saying he was “scared” of playing against the Jazz big man after missing Philadelphia’s loss in Utah last month with a back injury.

“As we saw tonight, it looks like I was very, very scared of him,” Embiid said, his voice dripping in sarcasm. “So, yeah, keep talking.

“But going up against him, one of my goals is to also be Defensive Player of the Year. So, you know, when you go up against those types of guys, he’s a great player, and you know, he does a lot for his team that don’t show up on the stat sheet … but when you go against those guys, you know, it brings something else to my game.

“I want to dominate. On the offensive end, but mainly on the defensive end, because that’s the goal I set for myself at the beginning of the year … those are the matchups that you want to go out there and just dominate and prove to everybody that, as a team, that we have a great team, and, individually, you should be up there when it comes to those rankings and stuff.”

Embiid was the difference at both ends for Philadelphia. While the Jazz outscored the Sixers 63-24 at the 3-point line, Embiid continued his season-long parade to the foul line — he took 13 himself, while the Jazz took 19 as a team, one of several things that led up to Jazz star Donovan Mitchell being ejected and multiple Utah players criticizing the officials after the game. Embiid was also everywhere defensively, repeatedly breaking up lobs to Gobert at the rim and, on one play, stopping a Mitchell drive only to immediately jump back up and block a Gobert dunk attempt.

But for Embiid, the lack of respect he got in award voting last season, after the Sixers exited the playoffs in a first-round sweep by the Boston Celtics, has been a source of motivation he has talked about publicly going back to the preseason.

He specifically, however, singled out Gobert as a source of frustration for being selected as the third-team All-NBA center ahead of him.

“I agree that Anthony Davis had a better season than me,” Embiid told MacMullan in December. “[Nikola] Jokic? That’s debatable. But Rudy Gobert? No offense, but he [averaged] 15 [points] and 13 [rebounds] and I had my 23 and 12, and that’s kind of a big difference. I think my numbers were better. But people didn’t want to vote for me because our team didn’t do well.

“That’s OK, because I will use it to motivate me so there is no chance that anyone can make that mistake again.”

When asked after Wednesday’s game if that snub played any role in his performance, he didn’t try to hide it.

“That’s pretty fair,” Embiid said. “But what motivates me is to win the game. Without winning, you know, you’re not part of those conversations when it comes to Defensive Player of the Year and MVP and all that stuff. That’s the first thing. I want to win. That’s all I care about.

“The past is the past. It’s unfortunate the way things happened last year when I wasn’t on there … it plays a huge role in my mentality this year, just wanting to destroy everything in my path. I’m playing against a lot of great players every single night. They’re really good at what they do. But wherever I’m needed to get the job done, defensively and offensively, that’s what I’ve got to do.”

Embiid, who will start Sunday’s All-Star Game in Atlanta, is having what easily is the best season of his career, averaging 30.2 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists. He is one of the leading contenders for the MVP award, as Philadelphia enters the All-Star Break with a half-game lead over the Brooklyn Nets for the best record in the Eastern Conference.

But, after several games recently, Embiid has repeatedly said he’s more interested in winning Defensive Player of the Year than MVP — though, to be fair, he won’t be turning that honor down if it winds up coming his way.

And while Embiid said multiple times Wednesday that teammate Ben Simmons also deserves to be in the mix for the defensive award — speaking before the game, Sixers coach Doc Rivers said he believes Simmons should be favored, ahead of Gobert, for it — Embiid said he is focused on winning the honor because he has had that as a goal since entering the NBA.

“When I came into the league, I never thought I would be that good offensively,” Embiid said. “I always focused on the defensive side, and that’s always been my goal to win it. It’d be nice to do it, but like I said, that’s been my focus coming into the league, and obviously the scoring and the offensive side has taken over.

“I keep going back to the same thing — you can’t be in those conversations without winning. Right now, we’re winning, we’re first in the East, we beat the best team in the league. I got a bunch of great teammates that are doing a great job. You see [Sixers teammate Tobias Harris], that’s why I’m preaching for him to be an All Star, because you look at nights like tonight, he dominated in overtime. And you know, as a team, we just play all well together, we move the ball, and we defend well.”

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