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Tim good morningESPN
In a season full of dominant performances for center Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, none was more dominant than the display he presented on Friday night against the Chicago Bulls.
Embiid finished with 50 career points by the end, with 17 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 4 blocks and just 2 turnovers in 35 minutes, while Philadelphia stopped visiting Chicago for a win. 112-105 which pushed him to 20-10 in the season.
“We had to get her out,” Embiid told ESPN’s Cassidy Hubbarth afterwards. “If I’m who I think I am, I have to do my job. That’s my job. That’s why I get paid.”
Embiid was absolutely dominant throughout, finishing his night with an absurd jumper in the corner to make 109-103 with 41.8 seconds to go.
After the play, Embiid turned to the empty stands inside the Wells Fargo Center and raised his hands to the ceiling – though, instead of the usual thunderous waves of applause he would receive from partisan Philadelphia fans, he didn’t could only imagine what that might sound like.
He later shared a pair of free throws with 29.2 seconds left to officially establish his career, reaching the previous mark of 49 points.
“I mean, we did it as a team,” Embiid said when asked what led to his career night. “It wasn’t an individual effort. We all won together. My teammates found me, I found them, I shared the ball and I actually played better D than I played the doubles games of the past, which made me happy. I start to defend myself and I’m quite happy with what I did at that moment.
Despite Embiid’s dominance, the Sixers still struggled to outscore the Bulls (12-16), who scored 30 points from Zach LaVine – albeit 9-for-28 – and had six players in numbers. double. Philadelphia, playing without star guard Ben Simmons (illness), scored 85 combined points from Embiid, Tobias Harris (22) and Danny Green (13).
“I needed each of them,” Sixers coach Doc Rivers said of Embiid’s 50 points.
Meanwhile, the victory ensured that Rivers will lead Kevin Durant’s team in next month’s All-Star Game, as Philadelphia set the best record in the Eastern Conference by the end of this weekend’s games.
However, Rivers was less enthusiastic about this than Embiid’s dominant performance.
“I try not to get in trouble,” Rivers said with a laugh. “I’m excited about our team.”