Donovan Mitchell, Domantas Sabonis, and Aaron Gordon’s dunks stole Wednesday night

The three-point shot has become all the hype, but let’s make one thing clear: There is no basketball without the dunk.

Imagine guys running up and down the floor shooting only 3s? That’s robotic. But when you’ve got seven-footers dunking on each other, small guys throwing it on big men, and high-flyers showboating in mid-air ... well, you get a night like Wednesday night.

Embiid is a master troller on social media, but there isn’t much he can say after the night he had against Sabonis on Wednesday.

Sabonis bodied the 76ers’ All-Star all night and played some tough, physical defense. He also came away with a poster dunk on one of the premier shot blockers and trash talkers of the league.

Here’s the thing, though: If you look at the replay closely, you’ll see Sabonis shield the ball by using his off arm to fend off Embiid’s blocking arm. If you look again, it appears Sabonis elbow Embiid in the neck.

It’s always nice to see someone dunk on Embiid for a change. This one, depending on how you look at it, could be considered an offensive foul.

Donovan Mitchell sprained his ankle on Saturday, missed a game on Monday, then was listed as probable for Utah’s game against the Mavericks on Wednesday. Healthy ankles are generally a requirement for leaping high into the air.

Ankle sprain or not, Mitchell took flight.

Maxi Kleber tried to contest the dunk, but let’s be real: He stood no chance. Mitchell banged it on him with 1.5 ankles. Just look at the bench’s reaction for confirmation.

Aaron Gordon was in the air so long he didn’t know what to do with himself. So instead of just dunking the ball like a normal human being, he decided to be a mailman.

Gordon caught the ball with one hand, then put the other hand behind his head, like Karl Malone did back in the day. It was the most unnecessary but beautiful addition to the dunk of the night.

And it was part of a trio of dunks that made NBA basketball exciting to watch on Thursday.