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Tim BontempsESPN
In a season of dominating appearances for Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, none was as dominant as the one he showed against the Chicago Bulls on Friday night.
Embiid finished with a career-high 50 points to go with 17 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 4 blocks and just 2 turnovers in 35 minutes, while Philadelphia held off the Chicago visit to claim a 112-105 victory to 20. -10 on the season.
“We had to get it done,” Embiid told Cassidy Hubbarth afterwards to ESPN. ‘If I am who I think I am, I have to get the job done. Thats my job. That’s why they pay me. ‘
Embiid was utterly dominant the entire time, ending his night with an absurd step back into the corner to make it 109-103 with 41.8 seconds to go.
After the play, Embiid turned to the empty stands at the Wells Fargo Center and raised his hands to the ceiling – though instead of the usual thunderous waves of applause he got from the partisan Philadelphia fans, he could only imagine what that could be. sounds like.
He later had a pair of free throws with 29.2 seconds left to make his career official high and break his previous score of 49 points.
“I mean, we did it as a team,” said Embiid, when asked what led to his career night. “It wasn’t a one-man business. We all won together. My teammates liked me, I found them, we split the ball and we actually played better D than the previous few games, which made me happy. Starts with defense, and I’m fine. satisfied with what we have done towards that goal. “
Despite Embiid’s dominance, the Sixers still struggled to put away the Bulls (12-16), who got 30 points from Zach LaVine – though on 9-for-28 shots – and had six players in double digits. Philadelphia, playing without star guard Ben Simmons (illness), got 85 points from Embiid, Tobias Harris (22) and Danny Green (13).
“We needed them all,” Sixers coach Doc Rivers said of Embiid’s 50 points.
The win, meanwhile, meant that Rivers would be in charge of Kevin Durant’s team in next month’s All-Star Game, as Philadelphia held the best record in the Eastern Conference until the end of this weekend’s games.
However, Rivers was less enthusiastic about that than he was Embiid’s dominant performance.
“I’m trying not to get in trouble,” Rivers said, laughing. “I’m excited for our team.”