The Philadelphia 76ers needed a win in the worst way. They have been scuffling for a couple of weeks now losing nine of 12 games and they were struggling to get into any sort of groove.
Things weren’t looking much better for them on Friday night when they found themselves trailing the Atlanta Hawks by 10 in the fourth quarter. Things were looking bleak, but Joel Embiid came to the rescue and the Sixers rallied to win it 98-96 on his go-ahead bucket with 42.8 seconds left.
The big fella finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds in the win as he shot 10-for-23 on the night. He is still struggling with his shot a bit, but this is a performance that coach Doc Rivers and the Sixers will live with.
“He missed a couple of shots that he knows he can make and we just kept telling him the aggressive attempts, we’ll live with all day and I thought he did that,” said Rivers. “When Joel’s aggressive like that, more are gonna go than not and the more he does it, the more he will make.”
This was a big-time performance by a player who needed to step up when the time called for it. The Sixers really needed this win and they were shorthanded without Tobias Harris on the floor. They needed somebody to step up in a tough situation and the big fella did so.
“It means a lot to me,” said Embiid of the win. “In our situation, we got about $400 million worth of contracts not playing so any time you can get a win undermanned, missing 2 or 3 key players for this team, it’s great. It’s great confidence for our guys.”
Joel Embiid: “I'm still pissed off about what happened last year. [To win] means a lot to me… In our situation, we got about $400 million worth of contracts not playing. Any time you can get a win undermanned, missing 2 or 3 players, it's great confidence for our guys.” pic.twitter.com/LmuraqwMvc
— Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) December 4, 2021
Also, one has to consider that this is Embiid’s third game back from COVID. He has got to be able to work his way back into things and Friday was a game that could be considered a bit of a breakthrough for him.
“I think that was a breakthrough for him,” said Rivers. “Since COVID trying to get everything back, that was big for him.”
The Sixers will now move on to face the Charlotte Hornets for two games to close out this trip.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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