PHILADELPHIA — Game 3 on Thursday night could have gone off the rails for Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers. Trailing the New York Knicks 2-0 and the series shifting to the Wells Fargo Center, there was already a lot of hype and intensity for this matchup.
Embiid appeared to be doing a bit too much. He picked up a tough offensive foul, was screaming at officials, and was then called for a flagrant-1 foul when he grabbed Mitchell Robinson’s leg while he was on the ground.
When weird things happen like that in the past, it normally spelled trouble for the Sixers. Instead, Embiid shook that off and dropped a career playoff-high 50 points on only 19 field goal attempts. He was masterful all night long in a win.
“I saw him extremely composed out there for the whole group, obviously,” said Tobias Harris who has played with Embiid the longest on this roster. “After those first two fouls that happened from then on, he was setting balance into the game. So, that was a huge reason why we got the victory tonight and also a 50-point performance from him.”
Harris has been with Embiid through every playoff run. He has seen the ups and the downs. He has seen him continue to grow as a fighter and a leader for the Sixers. He sees the hunger he has shown to continue to improve as a player.
“He’s always a fighter for the group and wants to win and wants to contribute,” Harris added. “I’m not in the man’s body so I don’t know what he’s going through, but as anybody in this locker room will say, we’re just happy to have him out there with us.”
No matter what happens in this series, or even this playoff run as a whole, Embiid deserves everybody’s respect. He is putting his body on the line for the city of Philadelphia and the entire Sixers franchise. He probably shouldn’t be playing when considering the knee injury and the Bell’s Palsy, but he is out there and putting up incredible performances.
“All of us in the locker room, we understand what he means for this team and the impact he brings to our group,” Harris finished. “So when we have him on the floor, we know we are that much of a better team.”
The Sixers will look to even the series with a Game 4 win on Sunday.
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