Led by the “crown jewel” Joel Embiid himself, the Philadelphia 76ers were able to knock off the ever-pesky Atlanta Hawks last night by a score of 129-112. The Sixers extended their league-best home record to a shocking 27-2, while the Hawks dropped to 17-42 on the year.
Game Recap
Entering the Monday night match-up, there were some concerns. The Sixers would be without their 2x All-Star point guard Ben Simmons as he continued to undergo evaluations on his back. On top of that, Trae Young and the Hawks are known for giving Philly problems.
Despite the worries, the Sixers came out firing on all cylinders. Tobias Harris (who was made active last minute) scored 10 quick points in 6 minutes, and Joel Embiid was doing whatever he wanted down in the paint against an undersized Hawks team.
Philadelphia exploded for a 69 point first half, leading by 17 points as the teams broke for halftime. The game was seemingly over at this point.
Alas, the Sixers can just never make it easy. The Hawks came storming right on back, putting up an absurd 40 points in the third quarter and even taking the lead heading into the fourth. Philly had apparently forgotten they still had a game to finish.
With the fans growing restless, Embiid and the Sixers flipped the switch back on in the final quarter of play.
Embiid exploded in the fourth, scoring at will on almost every possession. He finished with a career high 49 points while also grabbing 14 rebounds and shooting 14/15 from the free throw line. The highlight of the night came when Embiid took a contested three with under a minute to play, setting his new career high. He drained the shot, and then ran down the court dancing and playing up to the crowd.
Trae Young finished the night with 28 points but was noticeably off his game, going 2/11 from three. Tobias Harris also poured in 25 for the Sixers, a solid bounce-back performance after struggling versus Milwaukee.
Best Player in the World?
Embiid somewhat backtracked a bit on his “best player in the world” comments in the postgame interview, explaining how he was more-so talking about his All-Star game performance (while also casually dropping an F-bomb).
Whether Embiid is the best or not, one thing is certain. When he’s happy and having fun on the court, he’s almost always at his best. Monday night was a perfect example of that.
The Sixers will be back in action Wednesday night as they travel up to Ohio to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 PM ET.
Mandatory Credit – © Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
