The Philadelphia 76ers grabbed their 14th win of the season on Friday night, defeating the visiting Indiana Pacers 115-105, even with Tyrese Maxey sidelined due to illness.
Even more encouraging than the victory itself was the sight of Joel Embiid’s best performance of the season by a fair margin — not only statistically so, but he looked the most comfortable physically he has in a long time. Embiid put up a season-high 39 points on 12-for-23 (52.2%) field goal shooting and 13-for-18 shooting from the charity stripe in 31:56 on the floor. He sank two triples, grabbed nine rebounds (two offensive) and added three assists and a steal.
He looked extremely fluid moving laterally and didn’t seem to be hampered by pain at really any instance throughout this one. Though not exactly red-hot from long range, Embiid was sinking silky smooth midrange jumpers and drawing fouls out of the Pacers left and right. His grittiest play came at a moment the Sixers needed it most late in the fourth period, with Embiid battling under the rim for an offensive board and getting up the put-back to help secure the Philadelphia win.
How sustainable this level of play from Embiid is in his current health state remains to be seen. Regardless, it’s still nice to enjoy a vintage big fella performance when we can get one.
But here, let’s watch Embiid’s season-best performance from Friday evening!
What impressed you most about Embiid’s game against the Pacers? Let us know in the comments!