Sixers

Joel Embiid Unstoppable in Boston as Sixers End Three-Game Losing Streak

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Dec 21st, 2021 · 8:54 AM EST

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Credit where it’s due on a Tuesday morning.

Facing a four-game losing streak and a dip below .500, the short-handed Sixers got monster contributions from their big guns in a 108-103 road win over the Boston Celtics. The trio of Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, and Seth Curry combined for 91 points and 21 rebounds with a depleted bench contributing just one point on the evening.

Not a typo there. Playing without Andre Drummond, Tyrese Maxey, Furkan Korkmaz, Shake Milton, and Georges Niang, the Sixers gave Isaiah Joe 21 minutes while using reserves George Bassey and Aaron Henry sparingly. We also saw the debut of Myles Powell, who was signed to help bolster the depleted roster.

It all amounts to a great road win, circumstances considered. Embiid poured in 41 and looked like the late Kobe Bryant in a closing roll, hitting an absolutely ridiculous baseline pull-up to all but ice the game with 11.3 seconds on the clock:

Embiid. Good god. 38 points and going nuclear here in the 4th to put the game away. pic.twitter.com/BHZFI3Xvek

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) December 21, 2021

That was one of those classic shots where it goes up and you’re sitting at home going “no no no! bad shot!” But then it goes in, and you’re wondering how a seven footer does that. How does a seven footer iso on the wing, then dribble baseline away from a double team and shoot over two guys at the same time? Only Joel Embiid does that.

Shots like this are one of the reasons why the Nikola Jokic MVP battle was a little bit of a head scratcher to me. Embiid’s defense was clearly better than Jokic’s offense, but even though Embiid wasn’t slinging ridiculous passes, his offensive game really did evolve last season. He was hitting one-foot Dirk Nowitzki fades and Euro-stepping past smaller players. He was learning how to play iso on the perimeter. I just don’t think he got enough credit for all of that when you read those myriad Embiid vs. Jokic comparisons online.

Short-handed, here’s what the Sixers’ top three did last night:

• Embiid: 41 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks, 2 steals
• Tobias Harris: 25 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
• Seth Curry: 26 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists

The trio shot 23-27 from the foul line and turned the ball over 11 times, which is okay considering that they were super-high usage on a night where the Sixers didn’t have a lot of options. The other two starters, Danny Green and Matisse Thybulle, only shot 3-11 from three, but combined for six steals and three blocks, and that helped negate another underwhelming rebounding night.

More importantly, they emptied the tank, knowing they get two days off before returning home to play Atlanta. All starters aside from Thybulle played at least 39 minutes, which allowed Doc Rivers to limit Henry, Bassey, and Powell to four minutes, seven minutes, and eight minutes, respectively. They should get Maxey back on Thursday, and added Tyler Johnson on a 10-day contract to help alleviate the ball-handling burden.

One of the things about these Embiid performances is that it reinforces the idea that we’re in Joel’s prime, and can’t waste another one of these seasons. Despite missing time with COVID earlier this year, and struggling a bit at times, he’s still averaging 25/11/4. Assist numbers are up and turnovers are down. He’s not the free throw monster he was last year, but still shoots 80% from the floor as a seven footer. There’s more than enough there to say to Daryl Morey, “hey let’s move Ben Simmons this year and try to go for it again.” The Nets and Bucks are good teams, but are you really afraid of Chicago, Miami, and Cleveland? Didn’t think so.

A couple of other notes:

• I thought I saw Enes Freedom commit at least 10 fouls, but the box score only shows 5.
• Good challenge from Doc on that Thybulle/Smart play in the fourth quarter. Don’t think the refs got it right, but at least they added the technical on Boston. That additional free throw cut Boston’s lead to 1 with 2:20 on the clock.
• Jayson Tatum shot 1-5 when guarded by Thybulle.
• Embiid shot 14-25 against Freedom, which is 54%. Boston was really missing Al Horford and Robert Williams on the interior.

Finally, Skip knows what’s up:

If you just watched the Sixers rally past the Celtics at Boston, you know what I know: Joel Embiid is the best big man in basketball. 41/10/5 w 4 blocks. So clutch. Such a great FT shooter. Just DOMINATES. Sorry, MVP.

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) December 21, 2021