Joel Embiid offered his most overwhelming version to give the Philadelphia 76ers their 26th victory. Doc Rivers’ squad, whose good form continues to bring him closer to the top train in the Eastern Conference, defeated the Orlando Magic 123-110 thanks to 50 points from the Cameroonian center, who equaled the best score of his career and became owner and lord of the game in the second half.
It was specifically in the third quarter when Joel finished bringing out all his resources. Embiid had already scored 24 points in the first half, but in the third period he managed to add 23 more to help his team turn the match around. With a 47-23 run, the 76ers took the lead and began to distance themselves on the scoreboard, something they would continue to do in the fourth quarter until they made the 27-point gap (113-86). This allowed the pivot to take this quarter practically off, since he only played 58 seconds in it and did so only to be able to reach 50.
Embiid had reached this figure less than a year ago, specifically on February 19, 2021. On that occasion, the Cameroonian scored his 50 points against the Chicago Bulls, setting a personal record that this morning he has been in charge of equaling, only this Once he has done it in just 27 minutes.
With 12 rebounds and 3 blocks, Joel managed to put the icing on the cake of a great performance in which Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey, with 21 and 14 points, were his best squires. Both, after a somewhat gray first half, managed to be more effective in the second, helping to break up the game with their baskets.
If the 76ers needed to come back in the second half it was because of Mo Bamba’s great version in the first. The center of the Magic scored 28 of the 32 points with which he finished, but, far from doing it taking advantage of his size and wingspan in the inside game, he did it with an exhibition in the outside shot. Thanks to his openings after blocking, Bamba managed to receive with space on the perimeter and did not spare almost any opportunity, signing a 7/8 in triples that did a lot of damage to the locals.
After the break, however, the 76ers defense managed to greatly reduce their impact, shutting down Orlando’s offense and finding much more room to turn the game around. Chuma Okeke, with 18 points, was the second in scoring for the Unseld team, while Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony added 14 and 13 respectively, but it was of little use to the Florida team once the one who was being their main offensive focus stopped shining.
(Cover photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
