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UNC Basketball: Harrison Barnes’ double-double, & Tony Bradley for MVP?

By Blake Cockrum

Mar 11, 2021; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls center Wendell Carter Jr. (34) and Philadelphia 76ers center Tony Bradley (11) battle for the ball at the tip-off at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 11, 2021; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls center Wendell Carter Jr. (34) and Philadelphia 76ers center Tony Bradley (11) battle for the ball at the tip-off at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Harrison Barnes’ big game helps lead Sacramento past Houston, and MVP-favorite Joel Embiid says that the Philadelphia 76ers should build around former UNC basketball standout Tony Bradley.

Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes recorded a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double in Thursday night’s 125-105 victory over the Houston Rockets. Barnes, who’s scored at least 20 points in five of his last six games, hit 8-of-15 shots for the game, and 4-of-6 at the free throw line. Barnes’ 11 boards were tied with veteran teammate Richaun Holmes for tops in the game.

Barnes’ big game, along with 20 points from Holmes, 20 from Buddy Hield and a game-high 30 from De’Aaron Fox, pushed the Kings to their third victory over their last five games after a nine-game losing streak in February.

Philadelphia 76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid is having a phenomenal season; so much so that he’s now the betting favorite to win the NBA MVP Award. But in a game that Embiid didn’t play in last night, backup center Tony Bradley performed admirably, and it got the attention of the former Jayhawk and four-time NBA All-Star.

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Embiid jokingly tweeted during the game that the 76ers should build around Bradley, a fourth-year big man out of North Carolina. And while Bradley may not be in line for an MVP award any time soon, he certainly played like it for at least one night in the absence of the player who may end up winning the game’s highest individual honor by season’s end.

Bradley scored 14 points on a perfect 7-for-7 shooting performance against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night. He also pulled down five rebounds and blocked three shots in 22 minutes of play. It was just Bradley’s third double-digit scoring game of the season, but it was also just his third appearance of the season with 20 or more minutes. It speaks volumes, though, that in each one of those three appearances, Bradley has put up double-digit scoring performances.

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Check back with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on Harrison Barnes, Tony Bradley and UNC basketball alumni throughout the league.

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