Joel Embiid has proved to be important for the 76ers once against after his performance in their victory over Atlanta Hawks.
Philidelphia 76ers Joel Embiid, who missed four straight games with a left foot sprain for the 76ers, he immediately made an impact in their 104-101 victory against Atlanta Hawks.
Embiid finish with 30 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists in Philadelphia’s 104-101 victory over the Atlanta Hawks at Wells Fargo Center on Monday night.
He also hit the game-winning shot and made a game-saving steal inside the final 20 seconds to secure the win for Philly.
“I came in with the mindset to get my teammates involved, because everybody has had it going and they’ve been playing so well,” Embiid said afterward. “So I wanted to keep that going and find myself playing within that.”
While Embiid is correct about how the 76ers have played without him — they just rattled off three wins in four games without Embiid, James Harden and Tyrese Maxey, all of whom were out with varying foot injuries, and have won seven of their past nine while dealing with a litany of ailments — there’s no one arguing Philadelphia is better off without its talismanic center.
“He was great,” said Tobias Harris, who continued his own brilliant play by pouring in 24 points on 10-for-18 shooting. “His presence and his dominance is huge for our whole group, and I thought he did a great job involving everybody in the game.
“His ability to take over games, especially in the fourth quarter, is big for us. He did awesome, and we were excited to have him back. We would have loved to have him back earlier, but it was good to get him back for tonight.”
Over that same time frame, only the league-leading Boston Celtics have a better net rating than Philadelphia’s plus-6.9 points per 100 possessions — all while Embiid, Harden, Maxey and Harris have missed chunks of time with injuries, among others.
“It’s a testament to our coaching staff,” Embiid said. “I’m just proud of [my teammates] because they are ready. You could tell that they were waiting for this moment for their name to be called, so I’m just proud.
“The first few games, we didn’t play the way we wanted to. … Injuries happen, and we had to make a lot of adjustments. … It’s just about all of us playing together. The coaching staff has been getting everybody ready, just making sure we come in and do everything possible to win these games.”
