Doc Rivers, Joel Embiid discuss big 4th quarter stretch to lift Sixers to win
The Philadelphia 76ers were cruising at home on Wednesday night. It looked like it was going to be an easy win before heading up to Brooklyn to take on the Nets on Thursday.
Instead, it turned into a close game and they needed their superstar to lift them down the stretch and lead them to a 141-136 win.
Joel Embiid delivered as he went on a personal 8-0 run after the Wizards tied the game at 131 that put Philadelphia ahead 139-131 on his way to 38 points for the game. It was an impressive showing and one that is expected of a player of his stature.
“That’s what he is, man,” said coach Doc Rivers. “We have a go-to guy down the stretch and what I like about what Joel was doing – obviously tonight it was scoring – but a lot of times with his pass. Watching him pick things apart offensively with his passing and his scoring has been fantastic for us.”
All in all, Embiid had 11 points in the fourth quarter and he did a terrific job of handling double teams all night, again. That is a trend that is continuing to have a big effect on the team moving forward.
At the end of the day, the Sixers pay Embiid the big money because they expect him to lead them to big victories late. There will be nights like Wednesday where he will have to do that and he showed up in a big way.
“They pay me to take over the game,” said Embiid. “They pay me to dominate. I’m in a situation where these guys have a lot of trust in me and I just did my job. I always give credit to my teammates. We made the right passes and I just finished.”
The Sixers will need to see more of this version of the big fella as the season continues on. They will need him on Thursday against Brooklyn and despite the team missing Kevin Durant, they will still be a handful.
