Win over Bucks builds confidence, but Joel Embiid knows Sixers must eliminate huge deficits

Embiid: “Maybe we should try to find a way to not put ourselves in those positions in the first place, so we don’t have to do it again. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) makes a pass as he works against the Dallas Mavericks.Read moreTony Gutierrez / AP

by Keith Pompey

Published March 5, 2023, 4:23 p.m. ET

INDIANAPOLIS – It was two weeks ago when Joel Embiid revealed the 76ers’ mindset inside the quiet of the home locker room after all of his teammates had left.

An hour earlier, the Sixers had stormed back from a 17-point deficit to beat the Memphis Grizzlies by five points at the Wells Fargo Center. It was their fifth straight victory. Embiid was asked if the win proved the Sixers should be recognized amongst the league’s best teams, such as the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks.

He was asked the same thing late Saturday night in the visitor’s locker room at Fiserv Forum, more than an hour after the Sixers battled back from an 18-point deficit to beat the Bucks, 133-130. Embiid had a similar response to what he said two weeks prior even after helping to snap the Bucks’ 16-game winning streak.

“I didn’t have a good game,” said Embiid, who finished with 31 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. “I think I could have done way better than I was tonight. That’s what I’m taking from this game.

“I’m only worried about us. We are not worried about whatever they have going on, whether it’s a winning streak or whatever they’ve been doing. It’s all about us getting better as a team and myself just getting better as a player.”

Getting better will be the Sixers’ mindset against the Indiana Pacers Monday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in the fourth game of a grueling five-game road trip.

Saturday’s game was a huge confidence boost for the Sixers (41-22), who are third in the Eastern Conference. At 45-18, the Bucks are first and have the league’s best record. But the Sixers outscored them 48-31 in the fourth quarter to pull off a thrilling come-from-behind victory.

“It’s good having these types of games, especially with our schedule the rest of the way,” said Embiid, whose squad has the league’s sixth toughest remaining schedule, according to Tankathon. ”It’s good for you. It prepares us for the playoffs.”

But Embiid acknowledged that it’s also bad for the Sixers to keep putting themselves in those positions.

“Maybe we should try to find a way to not put ourselves in those positions in the first place, so we don’t have to do it again,” he said. “Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”

It didn’t work for the Sixers Thursday night against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center.

The Mavs had a commanding 25-point lead with 3 minutes, 43 seconds left in the third quarter. The Sixers trimmed their deficit down to 19 points by the end of the quarter. Then the Sixers opened the fourth quarter with a 15-0 run to close the gap to 110-106. But that was as close as they would get, as the Mavs escaped with a 133-126 victory.

“Last game, we did come close and it wasn’t good enough,” Embiid said. Saturday, “We just need to find ways to manage it better and better every single game.”