Current:Home > FinanceJoel Embiid scores 50 points to lead 76ers past Knicks 125-114 to cut deficit to 2-1-LoTradeCoin
Joel Embiid scores 50 points to lead 76ers past Knicks 125-114 to cut deficit to 2-1
View Date:2024-12-23 16:01:14
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid is suffering from Bell’s palsy and played Game 3 with a bulky knee brace to sturdy the 7-footer after dealing with injuries all season.
The lingering effects of the time off from his most recent knee surgery s ucked him into a depression — and that was before Embiid was hit with a form of facial paralysis. Embiid pushed aside the pain — mental and physical — and embraced the pressure after he vowed the 76ers were “going to win this series” against the New York Knicks.
Embiid scored 50 points, making all four 3-point attempts and scoring 18 in a potential series-saving third quarter on Thursday night to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 125-114 win in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
After getting punished in New York, the Sixers pushed back.
“They want to bring the physicality,” Embiid said. “We can be physical, too.”
Embiid boldly stated “we’re going to win this series” after the 76ers dropped Game 2.
They at least have a shot now — the Knicks lead the series 2-1 and Game 4 is Sunday in Philadelphia.
Embiid was 13 of 19 from the floor, made 19 of 21 free throws and hit five 3-pointers.
Embiid, who scored a franchise-best 70 points against San Antonio in January, became the first player in NBA history to score 50 points on fewer than 20 shots in a playoff game.
Last season’s NBA MVP, Embiid finally turned the crowd -- which had a distinct New York flavor in South Philly --- into one rocking for the home team. The All-Star center played more like a sharpshooting guard in the third, when he saved the season.
The Sixers pecked away at a three-point halftime deficit when Embiid got hot. He hit one 3 and then two more —- the last two with assists from Tyrese Maxey — that gave the Sixers an 82-72 lead. His fourth 3 pushed the lead to 98-85.
Not bad for a career 34% 3-point shooter.
Maxey added two 3s in the quarter and the 76ers went a whopping 9 of 12 from beyond the arc for 43 points.
Embiid mostly kept his cool and was in the mix on both ends of the court all game. Embiid had 17 points, three fouls and he even grabbed Mitchell Robinson and dragged him to the court in a first half where they again weren’t good enough to look like a team that could beat the Knicks.
Embiid was whistled for a flagrant foul on the play. Robinson suffered a sprained left ankle and left the arena in a boot.
“I didn’t mean to hurt anybody,” Embiid said. “In those situations, I’ve got to protect myself.”
Embiid said he first started suffering from the affliction about a “day or two” before the Sixers played the Miami Heat on April 17 in the play-in tournament.
“My left side of my face, my mouth and my eye,” Embiid said. “It’s been tough. But I’m not a quitter. I’m going to keep fighting through anything.”
The Knicks won the first two games in New York, highlighted by Donte DiVincenzo’s go-ahead 3-pointer with 13 seconds left in Game 2. Against the backdrop of two Villanova national championship banners they helped the program win, the trio of former Wildcats were largely stifled in Game 3.
Jalen Brunson did lead the Knicks with 39 points and 13 assists. Josh Hart — whose spectacular 3-point shooting in New York was an unexpected bonus for the Knicks — scored 20 points but DiVincenzo had five.
Hart said he was “all for tough playoff fouls” but Embiid’s foul could have put Robinson out for a “serious amount of time.”
The Knicks must have felt at home inside a Sixers’ arena that sounded more like Madison Square Garden as chants of “Let’s Go Knicks!’ echoed throughout the arena for a chunk of the game. John Starks wildly cheered them on from his courtside.
The Sixers countered with Allen Iverson, who along with Embiid and Billy Cunningham are the only players in franchise history to hit 50 points in a playoff game.
But nostalgia didn’t matter much between teams that played each other in a postseason series for the first time since 1989.
This one could be shaping up as one to remember.
Embiid was serenaded with “MVP! MVP!” chants as he stretched the lead from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.
“Joel Embiid has been banned from the Empire State Building,” was posted on the skyscraper’s social media account.
Maxey finished with 25 points. Kelly Oubre Jr. had 15 points and showed no lingering effects following his reported involvement in a car crash after Game 2. Cam Payne hit three 3s and scored 11 points.
“I think Cam Payne was the MVP of the game,” 76ers guard Kyle Lowry said.
Outside of a disputed call on Embiid’s flagrant, Game 3 was played without any significant disputes with the officiating after the NBA said the referees missed several late calls in Game 2.
Embiid’s 21 free-throw attempts were more than New York attempted the entire game; the Knicks made 13 of 19.
“I’ll send my clips in like I do every game,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “They’ll say marginal contact. Then they’ll say marginal contact on Embiid and he’ll be at the line 21 times. That’s just the way it works.”
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
veryGood! (75)
Related
- Today's Craig Melvin Replacing Hoda Kotb: Everything to Know About the Beloved Anchor
- Identity theft takes a massive toll on victims lives, may even lead to suicidal ideation
- Fake 'sober homes' targeting Native Americans scam millions from taxpayers
- Japan’s Sogo & Seibu department stores are being sold to a US fund as 900 workers go on strike
- Watch as dust storm that caused 20-car pileup whips through central California
- Green Bay Packers roster: Meet 19 new players on the 2023 team, from rookies to veterans
- 'Let's get these guys the ball': Ravens' new-look offense should put weapons in prime position
- California prison on generator power after wildfires knock out electricity and fill cells with smoke
- Horoscopes Today, November 12, 2024
- Sauce Gardner voted top cornerback by panel of AP Pro Football Writers
Ranking
- How Ben Affleck Really Feels About His and Jennifer Lopez’s Movie Gigli Today
- Voters in one Iowa county reject GOP-appointed auditor who posted about 2020 election doubts
- Iraq court sentences 5 people to life in prison in killing of US citizen, officials say
- Bethesda's 'Starfield' is a fabulous playable space opera with a forgettable story
- Nevada Democrats keep legislative control but fall short of veto-proof supermajority
- 11 hospitalized after Delta flight hits severe turbulence en route to Atlanta
- Cameron touts income tax cuts, Medicaid work rules for some able-bodied adults in his economic pitch
- Alex Murdaugh loses prison phone privileges after lawyer records phone call for documentary
Recommendation
-
Bohannan requests a recount in Iowa’s close congressional race as GOP wins control of House
-
Voters in one Iowa county reject GOP-appointed auditor who posted about 2020 election doubts
-
NewJeans is a new kind of K-pop juggernaut
-
Legacy of Native American boarding schools comes into view through a new interactive map
-
MVSU football player killed, driver injured in crash after police chase
-
Judge rejects key defense for former Trump adviser Peter Navarro as trial is set for Tuesday
-
Memphis plant that uses potentially hazardous chemical will close, company says
-
Hurricane Idalia's aftermath: South Carolina faces life-threatening flood risks