PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia 76ers star big man Joel Embiid once again threw the franchise on his back in a 131-113 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday. The big fella dropped 53 points on 20-for-32 shooting while pulling down 12 rebounds. He also hit two 3s.
Embiid became the first player this season to have two 50-point games. He scored 59 on Nov. 13.
He also made some Sixers history. He joined Allen Iverson and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in Philadelphia history to have two 50-point games within a nine-game stretch.
“We won,” Embiid said afterward. “It’s good to do that when you win. It would suck to have those type of scoring nights if you lose. I’m just happy it’s contributing to winning. Whether I’m scoring a lot, but especially if I’m scoring a lot, at the end of the day, what matters is if it brings us the win.”
.@Sixers @JoelEmbiid has scored 50-plus points twice in his last nine games.
The only 76ers ever to do so are Hall of Famers @alleniverson (twice) and Wilt Chamberlain (twice).
He’s the first player to do so this @NBA season. @KyrieIrving and @KingJames both did so last season. pic.twitter.com/njPbaEd37M
— Sixers Stats (@SixersStats) December 12, 2022
“Every single time, it seems to bring us the win so just gotta keep trying to be efficient and try to play with my teammates,” Embiid added. “Good things happen when you’re worried about the right things and that’s moving the ball and the ball just finds me.”
There was a stretch in the second quarter when the big fella dropped 15 points in a row. The Hornets had nobody who could defend him in this one.
“We have a saying that you gotta feed the hot hand,” Embiid explained. “My teammates, if I just scored once, it doesn’t matter. If anybody on the team, if they just score once, you gotta keep feeding them until the defense stops them once or twice or three times. In that situation, I just kept scoring, and they just kept giving me the ball.”
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