The Philadelphia 76ers somehow put themselves in a position in order to knock off the Golden State Warriors on Saturday despite the starting unit getting off to a slow start. The bench unit came in and gave the team a big spark before giving way to the starters to close it out.
Coach Doc Rivers turned back to Joel Embiid despite the fact that he shot just 4-for-12 through the first three quarters and it appeared as if the officiating was in his head. The big fella responded by scoring nine points on 3-for-4 shooting in the fourth in a 102-93 win over the Warriors at home.
“I had a tough first half,” said Embiid. “I couldn’t get anything going. I thought I got fouled a few times and obviously, it seems like the whole year, I’ve been getting undeserved technical free throws even after getting hit in the air. I still get hit with techs and stuff. I had to turn it around.”
Embiid shot only 1-for-8 in the first half and it looked like he was grabbing at his right side at the beginning of the game. It is something that has been bothering him since Thursday’s loss to the Utah Jazz, but coach Doc Rivers made it clear that they would not win the game if he didn’t come alive.
“I don’t know what it was, honestly,” said Rivers. “I told him at halftime, we’re gonna win this game because you’re gonna become Joel and become powerful. I thought in the fourth quarter, he asserted himself. We had to have that.”
When it comes to the pain in his side, Embiid continued to downplay the injury saying it is nothing to really worry about.
“It’s alright,” said Embiid if it bothered him. “A little bit, but like I said last game, I think it’ll be fine.
A huge factor in Philadelphia being able to win this game was due to that bench unit as mentioned. The Sixers were able to get some big efforts out of those players and then the big fella came in and finished the job. He did not want to waste that effort.
“I didn’t want to waste the bench effort to bring us back in the game and to take the lead before I came back in,” he finished. “I just did whatever I’m asked and I mentioned it a couple of days ago. It’s my job to make those shots and make those passes in those situations. I thought tonight, and as a whole, I think I’ve been getting better over the years and I’m kinda getting to the point where I feel extremely comfortable in those situations.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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