Joel Embiid had a forgettable evening on Thursday in Game 3 against the Brooklyn Nets โ€” at least by his high standards. However, this did not prevent the Philadelphia 76ers superstar from coming up with the most important block of this series thus far โ€” one that may have just sealed Brooklyn's fate.

With the Sixers up by two and less than 15 seconds remaining in the fourth and final quarter, the Nets had an opportunity to tie the game and potentially send it to overtime. Spencer Dinwiddie took it hard to the rack for what could have been a season-saving play for the Nets. Well, Embiid had other ideas:

WHAT. A. BLOCK. Embiid anticipated that play perfectly as he came from the weak side to swat away Dinwiddie's lay-up attempt. This has to be the biggest play of the evening in a game that had no shortage of action whatsoever.

NBA Twitter was absolutely buzzing after seeing Embiid's heroics:

Thanks to this block (and a horrendous turnover on an inbound play in the Nets' next possession), the Sixers were able to escape with a 102-97 victory to secure a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 lead in this NBA Playoffs first-round series.

For his part, Embiid finished the game with a pedestrian 14-point, 10-rebound double-double on 5-of-13 shooting, while also turning the ball over five times. The MVP frontrunner was able to block two shots, though, with his second one emerging as what could be the final nail in the coffin for the Nets. At this point, it would not be a complete shock if the Sixers end up sweeping a dejected Brooklyn side in Game 4.