Joel Embiid may be playing the best basketball of his career. He has always been one of the best players in the NBA, but his current dominance is another step for a guy who is already brimming with talent. Last night, visiting San Antonio, they scored 38 points to lead their team to a 109-115 victory.
His performance had no gaps. He signed a 16 of 32 in field goals, captured 12 rebounds, distributed 6 assists and put a stopper. And he did all this in just 32 minutes. This is one more feature of this Embiid. Not only does it do a lot, but it takes very little time for it. With the game played in Texas, there are now four consecutive games in which he has finished with more points than minutes. Against Washington it was 32 in 29, against Orlando it was 50 in 27, against the Clippers 40 in 36 and last night it was 38 in 32. It’s really crazy.
“What you are doing is special. We trust him night after night. He is the pillar of our team. The mainstay of our offensive flow. I think tonight he did a great job once again. He really got everyone involved in his positions and he was still able to get the shots he wanted,” says Tobia Harris. Behold Embiid’s latest exhibit.
With their star at the helm, the Sixers dominated the game and were even up 15 points midway through the third quarter. This did not prevent the Spurs from reacting and placing themselves just two away with just over 30 seconds to play. There was no panic. First Embiid and then Tysere Maxey (18 points) calmed down from the free throw line.
The young point guard once again put together a good match, as did Tobias Harris, who achieved a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds. Furkak Korkmaz for his part added another 17 goals.
Dominion over San Antonio
With last night there are already seven consecutive losses for the Spurs against Philadelphia. The25 points and 10 rebounds from Jakob Poeltl and 19 points and 12 assists from Dejounte Murray were insufficient. Gregg Popovich complained at the end of the game that his boys made the same mistakes they made the last time they played against the 76ers. Beyond this specific result, the reality for Texas is that they have only won two of their last 10 games to drop to 13th place in the Western Conference at 17-30.
(Photography by Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images)
