The Philadelphia 76ers took on the Utah Jazz on Wednesday in a game between the two top teams at their respective conferences. It was all set up to be a massive matchup as both teams have star power on both the perimeter and the Big Man spots.
Joel Embiid had another big night dropping 40 points and 19 rebounds, including downing a massive triple to force overtime in a 131-123 victory. It came in a match-up with former Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, which will open many eyes in the MVP conversation.
Embiid also shot an efficient 14-for-27 from the floor and he hit 10-for-13 off the line. Given the status that Gobert has, the big guy wanted to bring it to him.
“In the fight against him, one of my goals is to also become Defensive Player of the Year,” said Embiid. “If you go against guys like that, he’s a great player, he does a lot for his team that is not on the stats, but if you go against those guys, it brings something different to my game. I want to dominate on the offensive side, but especially on the defensive side. That’s the goal I set for myself at the beginning of the year. “
The Sixers needed every point from Embiid in this game against the best team in the NBA, and it was very important for them to take this win and go into halftime with some momentum. It is truly one of their best wins of the season.
“He was absolutely incredible,” said coach Doc Rivers. He got what he wanted when he wanted it. He made the right plays. That was a really big team win for us. We are lucky to have gotten a 3 from Joel which is huge for us and we wanted a 2 or a 3. We didn’t care because we had a timeout in our pocket, but that was big . “
The Sixers have two players who are both contenders for Defensive Player of the Year in Embiid and Ben Simmons, but it’s huge to have the big guy come out and play like he did while attacking Gobert and then also two shots to block.
“Obviously I have one more of my teammates who has the potential to be the defensive player of the year, but those are the games you want to go out and just dominate,” Embiid added. “Proof to everyone that we have a great team and individually, I should be there when it comes to those rankings and all that.”
The Sixers are now heading to the All-Star break at the top of the East after a very great win.
This post originally appeared on Sixers WireFollow us on Facebook