Joel Embiid: “I Had to Show Celtics I am Unstoppable”

Joel Embiid was instrumental last night against the Boston Celtics. The big man from Cameroon tore apart one of the best defenses in the league, and what is more important, he led his team to a first win over the guests from Massachusets since the season started.

A 118-115 victory was only the third for Philly in the previous 13 contests against the Celts.

“It was good to get this win,” Embiid said. “It was a great step to what we’re trying to do here. We’ve been losing a lot to them.”

It appears that all of his frustration because of previous losses, motivated him a lot. He was so dominant on both ends of the floor and stats Embiid provided are rarely seen in the league.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VjiSNFHF1w

The third pick from the 2014 NBA draft scored 37 points and grabbed 22 rebounds, adding 4 assists and a very important block which was the deciding defensive effort of the game.

During the on-court interview right after the game, one of the front runners for the MVP award this season stated that there is not a player in the league who can guard him, and that messages coming from the Celtics team that they know how to handle his game simply forced him to come out and prove them wrong.

“I’ve been hearing that these guys can guard me better than anybody else, so I just have to come out and show that I’m the most unstoppable player in the league,” said Philly’s big man.

Unlike the previous events, when 7’0” center complained about the officials, in this match, the Celtics were the ones who were not very satisfied with the criteria. Embiid had 21 free throws, making 20 of them. He missed only the first one. In general, Sixers had 43 shots from the line, Celtics only 16.

The intensity in the matches between the 76ers and the Celtics has always been very high. Throughout history, these two franchises were big rivals, who often decided who will be the NBA champion.

After many years, they are contenders again, and have a huge role in the Eastern Conference. Along with the old rivalry that guarantees tension on the floor. Marcus Smart and Embiid had an incident at the beginning of the third quarter.

Celtics’ player pushed his rival from behind sending him on the floor after Embiid left his elbow while setting a screen for JJ Redick, and hit Smart who fell on the ground.

For a brief moment, it seemed that the fight is inevitable, but luckily both players were restrained and everything ended without any physical encounters.

Smart was called a flagrant two and ejected, and the game continued. For many, this was the turning point of the match. The crowd started to be more active and it energized the hosts, who eventually took the momentum and began cutting a double-digit deficit.

“Stuff like that gets me going, gets the crowd going,” Embiid said about the incident. “Obviously, I was frustrated because it was a cheap shot. I didn’t see it coming.”

Jimmy Butler did close this contest with a mid-range jumper 4.7 seconds until the end, but what made it possible for him to do such a thing was Embiid’s excellent defense on Kyrie Irving.

With half a minute to go, Uncle Drew went for a floater, but he got rejected by the Sixers’ center who later posted a defensive board, clinching a possession which Butler converted to a win.

This triumph eased the pressure on 76ers and their third seed. They are now three games ahead of Pacers in the fourth place and four ahead of the Celtics. So, the reality is that they can’t go up or down unless something spectacular happens. Raptors are just too far away in the second place.

Brett Brown’s crew is now heading for Georgia to meet the Atlanta Hawks who defeated them in the latest meeting 123-121. The game will be played on Saturday, and afterward, Sixers have four more road trips in the upcoming five events.