Unfortunately for L.A., casualty list didn’t include 76ers’ Embiid

Ninety percent of winning is just showing up.

NBA viewers are becoming accustomed to seeing only three Beatles, or watching the Jackson Four.

When the rare luxury game comes up on the regular-season menu, the news is who isn’t playing, not who is.

On Friday night the Clippers were missing Kawhi Leonard to go with the already injured Patrick Beverley and Serge Ibaka, and the 76ers were doing without Tobias Harris.

This did not showcase the best aspects of the best team in the East, or the team with the fourth-best record and perhaps 26th-loudest buzz in the league, the one that came into Philadelphia with a seven-game winning streak. But because Joel Embiid, of all

people, was one of the stars who wasn’t muted, the 76ers managed to reintroduce the Clippers to losing, 106-103.

“I’m biased,” said Doc Rivers, the Philadelphia coach, “but he’s the MVP for me.”

In lieu of healthy contenders, there is probably more talk about the MVP candidates than there is about who might get to the Finals, which isn’t healthy in any sense. Embiid, whose feet have only reluctantly accepted the reality of his chosen profession, has missed 18 games. When he does play he gives Philadelphia things like 37 points, 14 rebounds and 18 trips to the foul line.

And he makes opponents do strategic contortions. The Clippers have only one real

center now, but Ivica Zubac played only 7:23 in the second half. Power forwards, some of them not very powerful, tried to combat Embiid by fronting him, doubling him, and fouling him. In the end, coach Ty Lue thought they did as well as they could and said they actually got an advantage offensively because Embiid had to guard people on the floor. He might have been right.

The Clippers lost this one on the other end. Down 20-3, they stabilized things by halftime and then made a strong bid to win, with Patrick Patterson erupting for 18 points and a career-high five 3-pointers.

When Patterson blocked Embiid’s shot, the Clippers had a 94-93 lead and the ball. Then the loose ends unraveled. Patterson was the first to let a pass get away.

George got picked twice while dribbling through traffic.

Marcus Morris wound up with an offensive rebound and lost possession.

The seven fourth-quarter turnovers were the difference, along with Danny Green’s free throws at the end. Other problems were a napping defense that allowed Furkan Korkmaz a transition bucket, and a back tap that allowed Shake Milton to sink a 3-pointer.

These are the plays that must be buttoned-up in any playoff round they intend to win.

The flip side is the argumentative way the Clippers have played lately. They stole a game in Detroit with Leonard and George out, and they almost made it out of Philly with another heist.

“I think we checked a lot of boxes on this trip,” George said.

George didn’t feel like checking anything the past two days, except temperature. He said he was felled by a bad throat and

chills. Then George changed out of his bathrobe and into a cape.

He was 6 for 9 in the third quarter, 14 for 29 for the game, scoring 37 points with nine rebounds.

“I was just more tired than anything,” George said. “There are a lot of back-to-backs and quick turnarounds. We’ve seen a lot of guys go down.”

“There’s no question it’s difficult,” Rivers said. “The tough part is getting up at 7, 8 in the morning to get tested (for COVID-19). People might laugh at that, but this is after getting into a city at 3 a.m.”

With Zubac sitting, the Clippers turned to their 3-point plan, which clicked at a 45.1% clip during the winning streak. Seven Clippers hit at least one three, and the club took 39 of its 82 shots from deep.

“I’ll take ownership of the turnovers,” said George, who

had seven overall. “Give them credit for the pressure and the rotations. But I can’t give them full acknowledgement on that. They were just allowed to reach, to play hands-on. It wasn’t clean out there.”

After last year’s playoff flameout, George caused several eyebrows to jump when he said that this Clippers adventure was a two-year project, that no one assumed a championship in 2020. Many fans actually did.

Now the Clippers are back in the weeds again. The truth is that a little tighter play and a little tighter roster could get them into that elusive Western Conference Final and maybe further.

George also said the Clippers have some “big-time players coming back soon.” Theoretically he’s right. But this is 2021, the year of the Game-Time Decision.