With the NBA in an indefinite hiatus due to COVID-19, we continue our day-by-day look back at the history of the Philadelphia 76ers. We continue down our path into Sixers history every day as we look to fill the void left by the absence of basketball.
Saturday’s edition is a very recent one as it goes back just a year ago. The Sixers were in the process of clinching a high seed in the East and they welcomed in the rival Brooklyn Nets for a late March matchup. It was a matchup that the Sixers needed to have and they leaned on the big fella to get it done.
March 28, 2019
The Nets had given the Sixers fits all season. D’Angelo Russell and Spencer Dinwiddie had been giving the team fits all season and on this night, the Sixers needed to stop them as well as feed Joel Embiid and that’s exactly what they did.
They held Russell to 6-for-19 shooting held Dinwiddie to just nine shots while Embiid went to work on Jarrett Allen and Ed Davis. Embiid had 39 points on 12-for-20 shooting, he knocked down three from deep, and he had 13 rebounds, six assists, and three steals. All of it resulted in a 123-110 win for Philadelphia.
It was a game the big man was ready for as he told reporters postgame:
We might see them in the playoffs, so it was good to see where we’re at, especially after two losses. I’ve been feeling it. I’ve been getting ready. I’m excited.
Of course, the two teams did meet up in the playoffs. The Nets gave the Sixers a wake-up call as they went into Philadelphia and won Game 1 to steal home-court advantage, but the Sixers then went on to win four straight to take the series 4-1. The series had its fair share of drama for a Round 1 series. [lawrence-related id=28407,28399,28389]