PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid has come a long way in his NBA career. It was just a few years ago that Embiid was cleared to play in back-to-backs for the first time. Fast forward to the present, and the Sixers star center just turned in one of the most dominant back-to-back performances that you’ll ever see.
On Saturday night, with his team fresh off a loss to the Hawks in Atlanta 48 hours earlier, Embiid turned in his most dominant performance of the season. Against the same Hawks team that bested the Sixers just two days prior, he set the tone early by scoring 14 points in the first quarter. Embiid would build off that solid start over the remaining 36 minutes, finishing with a season-high 42 points, plus 10 rebounds, six assists and two blocks. And, perhaps most important, the Sixers walked away with a 121-109 win to improve to 6-7.
After that impressive performance, Embiid shared a concerning health update with media members when asked why he seemed to be grabbing at his shoulder throughout the game. “I don’t know what happened, but some days, I can’t lift my arm up,” Embiid said. “When I go block shots, I really feel it. I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s whatever.”
Those comments caused the entire city of Philadelphia to raise a collective eyebrow, and cast doubt on Embiid’s status for Sunday night’s game against the Utah Jazz, especially since the big man also tweaked his ankle against Atlanta Saturday night. Plus, he’s coming off an illness that kept him sidelined for over a week. However, by tip time Sunday, Embiid was out on the floor with his teammates, and he was apparently ready to treat everyone in attendance to a performance they wouldn’t soon forget.
Against a Jazz team that boasts one of the league’s best defenses to this point in the season, Embiid went to work. He had 13 points in the first quarter, and then 11 more in the second. As the Jazz continued to largely play him with single coverage, he added another nine in the third quarter before going absolutely nuclear in the…
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