Sixers address Joel Embiid scoring only 1 point in 4th quarter vs. Knicks
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers had to find a way to get Joel Embiid involved late against the New York Knicks in Game 4 on Sunday.
Just three days after scoring a playoff career-high 50 points in the Game 3 win, Embiid was held to a pedestrian — by his standards — 27 points in the Game 4 loss.
Even worse, Embiid had 13 points after halftime on 2-for-7 shooting. He had exactly one point in the fourth quarter on 0-for-5 shooting with the game in the balance.
The Knicks had Isaiah Hartenstein on the bench due to foul trouble and turned to former Nick Nurse disciples OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa. The two held Embiid in check.
“Well, he did a good job,” Nurse said of Anunoby defending Embiid. “OG can, obviously, guard him. It’s that and the scheme as well. When he got it, they were getting it out of his hands, and I think he made really great reads. You guys can see those plays just like I can in your head right now where we’re swinging around. We got Kelly (Oubre Jr.) on a back cut for a layup, we got swing around 3s, we got pass, pass, wide-open corner 3s. When you’re making the right reads, you gotta step up and make them.”
Embiid made the right reads. The Sixers missed shots. That caused the Knicks to ignore shooters and focus on the big fella. However, he’s the reigning league MVP.
Yes, he is dealing with the leg issue and Bell’s Palsy. Yes, he deserves every ounce of respect from everybody for playing through that, but he needs to demand the ball and take games over in the fourth.
Maybe he ran out of gas. That could have been a big factor given he played all 24 minutes after halftime due to the team’s struggles with him off the floor in the first half.
“It was difficult,” added Maxey on Embiidd’s lack of production in the fourth. “I mean, again, that’s on like me and KLow (Kyle Lowry) because they trapped him almost every single time he caught the ball. So that’s extremely hard to it’s hard to be aggressive when you get trapped. He made the right plays for the most part. I think, guys missed shots.”
Maxey shot 8-for-21 on the day. That doesn’t help Philadelphia, but for Embiid to score only one point in the fourth quarter in the biggest game of the season is a big issue.
“I missed a couple shots,” Maxey admitted. “I missed a couple layups that I normally make. We missed a couple of 3s, but I felt like Jo did a great job of reading the defense. They came and trapped him, he kicked it out, and we got some shots that just didn’t fall today.”
The Sixers need Embiid to be superhuman when they go back into Madison Square Garden on Tuesday looking to extend their season.
