If it is a question of returning after an injury, there are few better ways than the one chosen last night by Joel Embiid: 30 points and a comeback against the Hawks to place Philadelphia in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with 12-9.
After four games without playing, the center showed once again who is the franchise player of the Pennsylvania organization. With four minutes remaining, Atlanta led by three points. That’s when Embiid threw the teams behind him to score his team’s last 11 points and lead them to a 104-101 victory. MVP’s screams echoed through the Wells Fargo Center.
“You want to be able to make the last few plays for your team to win. Every time they needed me, it was when I felt it was time to light the fuse,” says the center after signing a very complete performance of 30 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.
Beyond Embiid’s extraordinary performance, the 76ers had a very good Tobias Harris who contributed a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds, as well as 21 points and 7 assists from Shake Milton.
The current version of Philadelphia is much better than the one displayed at the beginning of the campaign. The funny thing is that this comes just when James Harden and Tyrese Maxey are out. Doc Rivers believes that maintaining their current level of focus and intensity is what will lead them to become even better. «Can we play the same way when everyone has returned? That will be the key for us », he expresses.
Question of details for McMillan
The Georgians did not play a bad game, but that did not prevent them from adding their third consecutive defeat. Nate McMillan, head coach of the team, he understands that in such an even match any nuance ends up being decisive. «They made the appropriate baskets. We were starting a set and we had the option to get some advantage and they made the baskets to keep us close. We also had a couple of costly turnovers down the stretch,” he analyzes. To be exact, there were 19 turnovers in the game (7 of them in the last quarter).
As far as individual performances go, no Hawks player reached 20 points. The closest were De’Andre Hunter and Trae Young with 18 each.
(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)