PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia 76ers star big man Joel Embiid has been having one helluva season as he continues to put up monster scoring nights whenever the Sixers need him to do so.
On Wednesday, the big fella had 29 points as the host Sixers held off the Cleveland Cavaliers, 118-112. Philadelphia led by as many as 28 before the Cavs cut their deficit to four points in the fourth. Philadelphia escaped when Embiid took over down the stretch.
In the process, Embiid crossed 10,000 points in his career. He became the fastest Sixer to do so (373 games). The previous fastest was Allen Iverson, who reached the milestone in 378 games.
“I can only think what if I didn’t miss all these games?” said Embiid. “I guess it’s a good thing, but that’s not where the focus is. I just focus about what I can do to help the team and if it’s scoring a lot, passing defensively, then I’m going to do it.”
.@JoelEmbiid reached 10,000 for his career. In his 373rd career game, he has surpassed @alleniverson as the fastest @sixers player in franchise history to reach the mark.
He's also the 13th player in @NBAHistory to reach the mark that quickly.
— Sixers Stats (@SixersStats) February 16, 2023
The impressive part of Embiid’s scoring rampage is the fact he is a big man. He doesn’t start possessions with the basketball. He has to fight down low, get position and hope his teammates can find him with pinpoint passes to get him going.
“That’s impressive,” coach Doc Rivers said of the accomplishment. “Wilt Chamberlain didn’t play long enough here? Obviously? Golly because every record is Wilt Chamberlain’s record, but that’s impressive. Especially, at the position that he’s playing at because he needs the ball given to him for him to score. Guards have the ball. They can score whenever they want to so that just tells you how dominant Joel has been.”
The Sixers head into the All-Star break 38-19 and look to build off what they have accomplished thus far with Embiid leading the way.
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