How important is Joel Embiid to the Philadelphia 76ers? In his 36 minutes on the floor, his team beat the Clippers by 23 points. In his 12 minutes off it, they nearly gave it all back.
The transformational big man earned 32 points, 16 rebounds, and a little bad blood as the Sixers sent the Clippers spiraling into their sixth consecutive loss, 109-105.
Embiid’s rampaging post play drew increasingly aggressive double-teams from the wayward Clipper defense, and the Spurs-modeled 76ers shredded them with energetic cutting and liberal passing.
Early defensive breakdowns allowed the Sixers to net three buckets off inbounds passes and a gaudy 20 points in the paint IN THE FIRST QUARTER.