How dominant was Joel Embiid’s 53-point performance? His Sixers teammates weigh in.
James Harden on Embiid: “He’s [7-2] and can move like a guard. It’s pretty special to see. He gets to the basket and draws so much attention. It’s just crazy."
In an era when the perimeter player is king, Joel Embiid is showing why he’s the 76ers’ centerpiece.
The 7-foot-2, 280-pound center is the main reason the Sixers (14-12) take a two-game winning streak into Tuesday’s game against the Sacramento Kings at the Wells Fargo Center.
Embiid scored 53 points on 20-for-32 shooting along with 12 rebounds in Sunday’s 131-113 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. This came two nights after Embiid finished with 38 points in a 133-122 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. And he’s averaging 33.4 points in his 18 games.
“He’s terrific,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “He’s on a roll right now. He was great the other night against the Lakers, and he came in the game here and he was clever [Sunday]. We were trying to double-team him in different spots, and he knew when it was coming. He had a lot of great plays, and he’s a great, great talent.”
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But Embiid’s performance on Monday puts him in a class of his own.
Embiid, who also scored 59 points against the Utah Jazz on Nov. 13, became the first player this season with multiple 50-point games. He also became the first center to do so in a single season since Hall of Famer David Robinson in 1993-94.
Embiid’s 50-point games came in the last nine games, placing him with Hall of Famers Allen Iverson and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in franchise history to complete the feat.
“Dominant,” Tobias Harris said, describing Embiid’s Sunday night performance. “Big fella does that. His presence out there, he was able to just get any matchup that he wanted to exploit. Fifty-point games like that, I’ve seen it all. It’s spectacular, but I’m used to it, you know what I mean?”
Sunday was Embiid’s fourth career game with at least 50 points and 10 rebounds. By shooting 62.5% against the Hornets, he joined Charlotte owner and Hall of Famer Michael Jordan as the only players since the NBA/ABA merger with at least four games of 50 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 60% from the field.
Sunday’s performance also capped Embiid’s second NBA Eastern Conference player of the week honor this season and ninth of his career.
“He’s a helluva player, man,” Montrezl Harrell said. “He does so much on both ends of the floor for us, both offensively and defensively. For him to go out there and carry the load on both ends of the floor and still put up 50 and shooting a great percentage just shows the character of the player and the type of work he puts into his game.”
» READ MORE: Sixers’ Joel Embiid named Eastern Conference player of the week
Embiid also extended his streak of performances with at least 35 points to four games, the longest streak by any player this season.
Coach Doc Rivers said he scored every way that you can put a basketball in the basket. He noted that the last play for Embiid was a slot drive, a drill the Sixers utilize for their guards.
“I don’t think we’ve ever done it for bigs,” Rivers said. “Maybe we need to add that now because that was terrific.”
James Harden also enjoyed what he witnessed.
“He’s [7-2] and can move like a guard,” Harden said. “It’s pretty special to see. He gets to the basket and draws so much attention. It’s just crazy. It’s crazy to be that big and be able to move like that.”
After he was traded from the Brooklyn Nets last season, it didn’t take Harden long to realize Embiid wasn’t just your traditional back-to-the-basket post player.
Versatile, Embiid can score on pull-up jumpers when opponents pack the paint. When the Sixers space the floor, the five-time All-Star takes advantage of drives to the basket.
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“If it’s not, then there’s so many other ways that I can score,” Embiid said. “The [hesitation] pull-up or one-dribble pull-up, that’s a shot we’ve been working on for a long time. I’m just glad to actually finally start to use it.
“I think it helps a lot, making those shots especially when the paint is crowded.”