PHILADELPHIA — Late Thursday night, Joel Embiid stepped off the podium and into a row of hallways at Wells Fargo Center, his face covered in dark black sunglasses. He wore the shoes all night long after the Philadelphia 76ers kept their season alive with a tough Game 3 victory over the New York Knicks. While icing his legs in the locker room and at press conferences in front of reporters and cameras.
For the past week and a half, Embiid has been suffering from Bell’s palsy, which weakened the muscles on the left side of his face. It started with a severe migraine last week, just about a day after the Sixers beat the Miami Heat in a play-in game to clinch the seventh seed. It lingered, causing his mouth to droop and his eyes to be dry and blurry, requiring constant eye drops.
He said the situation was troubling but not a deterrent. This season has tested Embiid in many ways. He saw the loss of an NBA All-Star teammate and a torn left meniscus that ended an MVP-caliber season two months apart. The Sixers must preserve their season and win to make the playoffs. Their hopes, and their safe passage, always depended on Embiid.
On Thursday, they pulled off another huge win in Game 3, with Embiid having his best playoff performance to date. With his knee still stiff and dealing with recent ailments, he scored 50 points in the Knicks’ 125-114 win, helping Philadelphia take a 2-1 lead in the first-round series.
Embiid is dominant and efficient. He made 13 of 19 shots and made 21 free throws. He helped the 76ers score 43 points in the third quarter, helping them erase a halftime deficit and take control of the game. When the Sixers’ season seemed to be teetering on shaky ground, one loss away from a closing series, Embiid was at the forefront again.
Of course, he did it in his own way. He nearly lost control in the first quarter and was nearly ejected — supposedly he should have been — when he took a flagrant one-pointer for an offensive foul a few possessions later. As Embiid lay on the ground, he pulled down opposing center Mitchell Robinson, who jumped on top of him and dunked. This game infuriated the Knicks. Donte DiVincenzo called it “filthy.” But this was a rebuke to Embiid, nothing more. Instead, he dominated the Knicks the rest of the night.
Tyrese Maxey scored 25 points, Cameron Payne scored 11 points off the bench, and the 76ers shot 48.4% on 31 three-pointers. However, it was Embiid who once again led them.
He beat out Jalen Brunson, who was finally coming off a two-game slump. Brunson missed 39 of his first 55 shots in the series, scored 39 points and dished out 13 assists, but it was still not enough. That wasn’t the case when Embiid tormented the Knicks from the inside out. Embiid hit 5 three-pointers and incurred 7 shooting fouls. The Knicks unleashed a series of big moves to try and stop him, but to no avail. Isaiah Hartenstein committed 5 fouls. Robinson only played 12 minutes due to an ankle injury and missed the second half. He still had 3 fouls.
“I’m very lucky,” Embiid said. “I took a few shots. But you have to keep taking them and keep working hard. I have to keep believing in myself. Especially with some limited physical abilities.
Embiid, who had been slowed by a left knee earlier in the series, aggravated it in Game 1. , and was injured again. On Thursday, however, he seemed to be in good spirits again. But the constant injuries and suffering left Embiid exhausted. He betrayed frustration as he explained his new case of Bell’s Palsy. Sometimes it forces him to ask himself why he attracts bad luck so easily.
“I say it every day,” he said. “It’s unfortunate. Every year you start asking yourself questions like ‘Why?’ every year. This is very annoying. Maybe it was meant to be. You just have to accept it for what it is. One thing I won’t do is give up. no matter what happens. I have to keep pushing, keep fighting, keep putting my body on the line.
He has done this many times. He is 7 feet tall and weighs 280 pounds, and was treated for pain after multiple injuries. They left their mark on him.
On Thursday, that nearly resulted in him being thrown out of the game. Embiid grabbed Robinson, he said, because he was worried about getting hurt again. In January, Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga injured his left knee after a fall. Embiid said the image flashed through his mind when he saw Robinson on top of him in the first quarter. It put Robinson in danger, even though officials deemed it unworthy of a “Flagrant 2” award.
“When he talked about it, it kind of flashed back to me,” Embiid said, excusing himself. “It’s unfortunate. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. In situations like this, I have to protect myself because I’ve been in so many situations where I’ve been the recipient of a bad ending. It’s unfortunate. It’s just a physical game. They want to bring their physicality. We can be physical, and it goes both ways, but I just keep playing and I have to keep my head above water. I’m not going to get out of myself. I have to continue to be myself, be proactive, and be healthy.
deeper
Joel Embiid’s ‘dirty’ flagrant foul on Mitchell Robinson was game 3 turning point
It was almost this play that changed the game and the series. Without him, the 76ers could sink and possibly exit the playoffs early again. Instead, they will play Game 4 on Sunday with a chance to tie the series with the Knicks.
Embiid made this prediction late Monday night after a disastrous end to Game 2. He said the 76ers should be up 2 points in the series. He said the 76ers were going to win no matter what.
Prediction is easy. On Thursday, Embiid offered his support. He became the third player in 76ers history to score at least 50 points in the playoffs and the first player in NBA history to take fewer than 20 shots. Embiid hammered the Knicks with post-ups and drives to the rim. He darted in off screens and fired from deep.
The 76ers followed suit. They took advantage of a physical game that at times became intense and even more intense. After mourning the referees in Game 2, they committed seven fewer fouls and attempted 14 more free throws than the Knicks. The surge in the third quarter proved decisive as Philadelphia defeated New York in the fourth quarter.
Now, it’s another series and the Sixers are back to their momentum. Embiid never lost his.
(Embiid Photo: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
