Joel Embiid, Sixers roll over Timberwolves, 118-94, avoiding a road letdown

MINNEAPOLIS — The 76ers were back on the road against a struggling team after a thrilling home victory over an elite team.

Haven’t we seen this script before?

But instead of producing another letdown game, the Sixers rolled to a 118-94 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves Friday night at the Target Center. This win comes two nights after a 107-106 home victory over the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.

“We know through the year how good we have to be to win,” Tobias Harris said. “And we have to be good, not just the nights that we are playing the reigning champions. We have to be good versus whoever we are going against. We have to respect our opponent.

“And I thought tonight, the second half, we really had a formula of how we were going to win a basketball game. And that was defense first and offensively, picking apart where we can get at.”

The Sixers (14-6) broke the game open in the third quarter, shooting 72.2% (13 of 18) from the field, including making 4 of 5 three-pointers. Joel Embiid scored 16 of his game-high 37 points in the decisive third quarter. With him leading the way, the Sixers led by as many 17 points in the quarter before taking an 88-74 cushion into the fourth.

“There’s growth from the group,” Harris said of avoiding the letdown. “There’s growth from this year to last year. But more individually, there’s guys just looking themselves in the mirror and saying, ‘We have to have that energy on the road no matter who we’re playing against.’

“So it’s a good win for us. We got another one we got to get, two more on this trip, and we got to handle our business.”

The Sixers will face the Indiana Pacers on Sunday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. A victory over the Pacers (11-8) would mark their third victory over a team with a winning record. Then they’ll complete their three-game road trip vs. the Charlotte Hornets Wednesday at Spectrum Center. Philly is 4-5 on the road.

One could argue that they’re 4-0 on the road when all five starters play. That’s true, but the Sixers still had a knack for being vulnerable on the road regardless of the opponent. This night, they put the Western Conference’s last-place Timberwolves (4-14) away in the third quarter. That enabled the Sixers to rest four starters - Embiid, Ben Simmons, Danny Green and Seth Curry - in the fourth quarter able a Minnesota squad minus their best player Karl-Anthony Towns (health and safety protocols).

As has been the case, Embiid was the dominant force that led their charge.

In addition to his points, he had 11 points before sitting out the fourth quarter.

The big man actually had his sneakers off midway through the final quarter. Embiid went 16 of 18 from the foul line, making his first 16.

“He is having an MVP-type season,” Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders said, “just the things he does offensive and defensively.”

Harris added 17 points and 11 rebounds. Curry (12), Simmons (11) and reserve Shake Milton (13) also scored in double figures. Reserve Matisse Thybulle had game highs of three steals and two blocks. Malik Beasley paced the Timberwolves with 22 points.

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Embiid played after being listed as questionable with back tightness.

This came two days after landing hard on his back after being fouled by LeBron James during Wednesday’s victory over the Lakers.

Embiid participated in Friday’s shootaround, and Doc Rivers said before the game that he expected the three-time All-Star to play. The Sixers just wanted to see how Embiid’s back felt after his pregame workout. He rode an exercise bike when subbed out of the game in the first half to keep his back loose and body warm. Embiid also appeared to have a heating pad on his back. He wore the heating pad while seated in a chair behind the basket when subbed out in the second half.

While he didn’t shoot the ball well, Embiid scored 21 of his points in the first half. He made just 4 of 12 shots, but went 12-for-12 from the foul line. His free throws were tied for the most by a player in either half during a game this season. (Trae Young made 12 in the second half versus the Detroit Pistons on Jan. 2).

Embiid followed that up by scoring the Sixers’ first eight points of the second half. Then after three-pointers by Harris and Danny Green, he added a pair of foul shots. In all, Embiid scored 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting in the third quarter.

“With the back tightness, I wanted to make sure I give us the best chance to kind of close it out and also get some rest so I can hopefully feel good for the upcoming games,” he said of his third-quarter performance. “I just had to lock in defensively, and offensively just take matters into my own hands. Just be aggressive.”

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Rivers shared words about John Chaney at the start of his pregame media availability.

Chaney, the legendary Temple basketball coach, passed away Friday at age 89. The Hall of Famer was the face of Temple University, and an icon who did things his way.

Rivers didn’t know Chaney very well, but had conversations with him.

“What stands out out to me, for all of us, for not only being a Black coach and his leadership, is the word coach,” Rivers said. “He was such a great teacher.

“Every time you talked to him, every time you heard him talk, it wasn’t just about basketball. It was about principle, it was about teaching, it was about learning. You know that’s what a coach should be when you think about it. ‘Coach’ in the dictionary is a teacher. I think John Chaney epitomized that as much as anyone.”

Chaney led the Owls to five appearances in the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. In all, Temple made 17 trips to the tourney during his time in charge. He also led Cheyney University to a Division II national championship. Chaney, who retired in 2006, won a combined 741 games at Cheyney and Temple.

But Chaney was a father figure to his players. He offered them life lessons and related them to basketball. He was also known for his early morning practices, his fiery temper, and not backing down for what he believed in.

“I loved him as a man,” Rivers said. “I just loved how he carries himself. I loved how he fought for his team, his players, but also just the institution in a lot of ways. But he was so much more than a basketball coach.

“He really was a teacher, and a teacher of life. You know we don’t have a lot like that anymore.”

The Timberwolves had a moment of silence for Chaney before the game. They also had a separate one for Sekou Smith, a longtime NBA reporter and analyst, who died Tuesday of complications from COVID-19.

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