PHILADELPHIA – Joel Embiid left the rostrum and entered the hallways of the Wells Fargo Center late Thursday night. He wore dark black sunglasses on his face. He had worn them many of the evening after the Philadelphia 76ers secured their season with a grueling Game 3 victory over the New York Knicks; within the locker room as he iced his leg and at a press conference in front of reporters and cameras.
For the past week and a half, Embiid has suffered from Bell's palsy, which has weakened the muscles on the left side of his face. It began with a severe migraine last week, only a day or so before the 76ers beat the Miami Heat in a play-in tournament game to secure the seventh seed. It persevered, leaving his mouth drooping and his eye dry, blurry and always reliant on drops.
The condition was a nuisance, he said, but not a deterrent. This season has tested Embiid in some ways. He's seen an NBA All-Star teammate sidelined and a torn left meniscus disappear two months into an MVP-level campaign. The 76ers needed to salvage their season and win to get to the postseason. Their hopes and protected passage have at all times relied on Embiid.
They did so again on Thursday with a surprising win in Game 3 as Embiid turned in his best playoff performance yet. Hampered by the still bad knee and now tormented by this latest illness, he dropped 50 points on the Knicks in a 125-114 victory that moved Philadelphia to 2-1 within the first-round series.
Embiid was dominant and efficient. He made 13 of 19 shots and hit 21 free throws. He catalyzed the 76ers with 43 points within the third quarter as they erased a halftime deficit and took control of the sport. When the 76ers' season appeared to be faltering and one loss away from a near-complete streak, Embiid once more got here to the fore.
Of course he did it his way. He almost lost control in the primary quarter and was almost thrown from the sport – as he probably must have been – when he followed up an offensive foul with a flagrant 1 just a few possessions later. While he was on the bottom, Embiid pulled opposing center Mitchell Robinson to the bottom, who jumped over him and did a dunk. The game enraged the Knicks; Donte DiVincenzo called it “dirty.” But it only served as a rebuke to Embiid and nothing more. Instead, he overwhelmed the Knicks the remaining of the night.
Tyrese Maxey scored 25 points, Cameron Payne got here off the bench for 11 and the Sixers made 48.4 percent of their 31 three-pointers. But it was Embiid who wore them again.
He outpointed Jalen Brunson, who was finally in a position to snap out of his two-game losing streak. Brunson scored 39 points and had 13 assists after missing 39 of his first 55 shots within the series, and it still wasn't enough. Not when Embiid was tormenting the Knicks in and out. Embiid made five three-pointers and drew seven shooting fouls. The Knicks rolled out one big ball after one other, attempting to stop him but couldn't. Isaiah Hartenstein had five fouls, Robinson played only 12 minutes on account of an ankle injury that forced him to miss the second half and still had three fouls.
“I was lucky,” Embiid said. “I took a few shots. But we have to keep taking them, keep going. I have to continue to trust myself. Especially because the physical abilities are somewhat limited.”
Embiid was slowed early within the series by his left knee, which aggravated it again in Game 1. He had missed 30 games due to a torn meniscus following surgery in February and was injured again. However, on Thursday he appeared to be alert again. But the constant series of injuries and ailments have taken their toll on Embiid. He showed his frustration as he explained his latest bout of Bell's palsy. Sometimes he needed to wonder why he was such a foul luck magnet.
“I say it every day,” he said. “It's unfortunate. Every year you ask yourself questions like 'Why?' Every single year. It's very annoying. Maybe it's just meant to be. You just have to take it as it is. The only thing I don't do I have to give up no matter what. I have to keep pushing, I have to keep fighting, I have to keep putting my body on the line.”
He did this repeatedly. Standing 2.10m tall and weighing 120kg, he caused pain and was treated for a series of injuries. They left their mark on him.
That almost got him knocked out of the game on Thursday. Embiid grabbed Robinson, he said, because he was afraid of getting hurt again. He injured his left knee after Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga fell on it in January. That image, Embiid said, went through his mind when he saw Robinson standing on top of him in the first quarter. It put Robinson in danger, although officials felt it was not worthy of a Flagrant 2.
“I had a few flashbacks when he brought it up,” Embiid said, rationalizing himself. “It's unlucky. I didn't wish to hurt anyone. In situations like that I actually have to guard myself because I've been in far too many situations where I used to be the recipient of the bad end. It was unlucky. But physical play. You want their physicality We may be physical too, and we’re. It goes each ways. I get pushed all over and I just keep playing. I just must be myself, aggressive and physical.”
GO DEEPER
Joel Embiid's “dirty” flagrant foul on Mitchell Robinson is the turning point in Game 3
It was almost the play that modified the sport and the series. The Sixers might need gone under without him and with one other early playoff exit. Instead, they play Game 4 on Sunday and have a probability to finish their series with the Knicks.
Embiid predicted this late Monday night after a disastrous end to Game 2. It was a prediction made with the sort of confidence that comes with an MVP award and a spot as one among the league's best players. The Sixers, he said, must have been up 2-0 within the series. The Sixers, he said, would win it irrespective of what.
Predictions are easy. On Thursday, Embiid confirmed it. He became only the third player in Sixers history to attain at the very least 50 points in a playoff game and the primary in NBA history to achieve this on fewer than 20 shots. Embiid beat the Knicks with post-ups and drives to the rim. He charged in from a distance and fired from deep.
The 76ers followed suit. They took advantage of a physical game that occasionally became, if no more, restless. After calling out the referees in Game 2, they committed seven fewer fouls than the Knicks and made 14 more free throws. The third quarter surge was crucial, and Philadelphia held off New York within the fourth quarter.
Now it's a series again and the Sixers have regained their bragging rights. Embiid never lost his.
image credit : theathletic.com