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.
This throwback takes us back only two years ago when the Process Sixers were making their playoff debut. However, they had to do so without “The Process” himself as Joel Embiid missed the first two games of the series with a facial injury. With the series now shifting to South Beach and the Miami Heat holding home-court advantage after their win in Game 2, the Sixers would need the big man in this one.
April 19, 2018
The Sixers had a lot of success in the first two games of the series as Ben Simmons held down the fort and guys like Amir Johnson and Ersan Ilyasova filled in admirably for Embiid, they would need the big man to make his return. So, why not do it on the road?
Wearing a mask to protect his face, Embiid toyed with Miami big man Hassan Whiteside all night as he worked him to the tune of 23 points on 5-for-11 shooting and seven rebounds in a 128-108 win to take a 2-1 series lead. Whiteside on the other side had five points and two rebounds. Along with Embiid’s big game, Dario Saric had 21 points and Simmons had 19 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists.
The big man didn’t like playing with the mask. Afterward, Embiid told reporters:
It was annoying. But that was the only way I could play in this game, if I wore the mask and protected my face with goggles. I had to work through it and I did.
The win gave the Sixers the momentum back on their side and they went on to extinguish the Heat in five games. Despite Dwyane Wade’s best efforts in Game 4, the Sixers were able to take a 3-1 stranglehold before they finished it off in Game 5 at home. [lawrence-related id=29612,29598,29591]