PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers made a statement on Wednesday when they knocked off the NBA-leading Minnesota Timberwolves, 127-113. In the impressive home victory, the Sixers received another phenomenal performance from Joel Embiid.
Embiid dropped 51 points on 17-for-25 shooting from the floor and 17-for-18 from the line while also grabbing 12 rebounds. The performance came after a 1-for-6 start from the floor.
“I think at one point, I was 1-for-6, 1-for-7?” Embiid said after the win. “I just looked at it. A few easy ones I missed. The ball just slipped out of my hands on the Kelly (Oubre) pass. Then I got fouled, hit on the head, and Ant (Edwards) also fouled me. That’s another shot attempt so it could’ve been different. I wasn’t really trippin about it. I just knew with their bigs being in foul trouble, they just gave me a lot of space whether it’s to attack or get to whatever jump shot that I wanted to, and I just took advantage of it.”
Wednesday was the 12th straight game Embiid has had at least 30 points and 10 rebounds. It’s the longest such streak since the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar posted 16 straight during the 1971-72 season. Embiid is on the same level as some of the all-time greats.
“Nothing,” Embiid said of what it meant to him. “We’re winning. That’s all that matters. Stats are great and it’s good to put up stats, but if it comes with a loss, then that’s a different story. If it comes with a win, of course, it means a lot. To me, that’s not too much of an accomplishment.”
To Embiid’s point, it isn’t going to matter much unless he wins. The big fella has his eyes on one thing: a title.
“There’s guys that have a lot of records in this league,” Embiid continued. “James (Harden) did it. I think he had, what, 40 straight 30 points at some point a couple years ago? Kobe (Bryant) had a scoring run, so there’s a lot of records. There’s a lot of stats and they’re gonna be hard to break so all you’re worried about — like tonight, like I said, I played within the offense. I didn’t force anything. I took what was given to me and one thing I’ve been trying to figure out is when to be aggressive.”
Embiid has been taking steps forward as a playmaker. At this stage, he understands he has to pick his spots on the floor to get the job done.
“When to let my teammates do their thing and when to also pick it up and be aggressive,” he said. “And take over.”
There was a moment in the fourth quarter when he missed his first free throw following a 17-for-17 start at the line. The foul shot would have given him 50 points. He missed it. However, Paul Reed grabbed the offensive rebound and gave the ball back to Embiid so he could get to 51.
“I missed it on purpose,” Embiid joked. “Nah. I guess the lights were too bright so that’s why too much pressure on it to get the 50-piece. The lights were too bright. P-Reed made a great play and I decided to stat pad and take the last shot to get the 50. That’s all that happened.”
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