PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers welcomed Joel Embiid back to the lineup on Friday to finish the preseason, and they knocked off the Atlanta Hawks, 120-106. Embiid shot 3-for-12 from the floor, but he was 14-for-15 from the foul line to finish with 21 points.
The first half was a struggle for him: He was 0-for-6 at halftime, and he had a tough time finding any rhythm on the offensive end. Considering he hadn’t played in the preseason before Friday, his being off made perfect sense.
“Listen, it was a real rhythm and conditioning night for him,” said coach Nick Nurse. “It looked like his legs were not quite there a bit here and there, but I thought he made coming out in the second half, I thought he made it a concerted effort to be really hard to guard. I thought he kept really good energy at the defensive end.”
He was better in the second half. He went 3-for-6 and he made all eight of his free throws. He also made numerous terrific plays on defense, not just as a rim protector, but also when switching on to ball-handlers and being a big out on the perimeter.
“We had him out high and switching some and even out trapping some,” Nurse continued. “I thought he looked really active at that end considering kind of the game and how much he played in a game and that kind of stuff so I thought his effort in the second half was really good. He played 15-plus straight. He wasn’t quite ready to come out yet, but I figured that was probably enough on a straight run.”
Embiid and the Sixers now prepare for opening night against the Milwaukee Bucks on the road on Oct. 26.
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