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Joel Embiid scored 35 points and dominated the Chicago Bulls in a wire-to-wire 157-137 Sixers victory, flanked by Paul George (28 points) and VJ Edgecombe (22 points) in an outstanding team outing. The 76ers dropped 51 points in the third quarter to pull away, buying their stars some extra rest to end the game, too.
Here’s what I saw.
A star-studded return
So much for Joel Embiid being slow to get going after a long layoff. With the Bulls playing single coverage and all but daring Embiid to attack their small-ish frontcourt, Embiid went bonkers in his first quarter of basketball since late February, starting 6/7 from the field and scoring 15 points in just six minutes of action. Pretty damn good.
Donning a large white wristband for reasons we’ll have to investigate later, Embiid hit the Bulls with every trick in his bag to get this game rolling. He was on fire from deep, hitting three early threes from different spots above the break, and he had an easy time shooting over the likes of Nick Richards and Jalen Smith from the midrange to open his account for the evening. Embiid unleashed a barrage of jumpers without having to face any allegations that it was a “soft” approach, driving his shoulder into his defender’s chest to move his man about 8-10 feet on every single possession. Seeing him check in for his second quarter shift and immediately draw a foul was heartening, a statement on how good he’s feeling after an extended absence.
The big guy even had the nerve to go up and punch one over Matas Buzelis early in the third quarter, drawing some audible gasps from press row and a ton of screams around the arena:
The Bulls simply had no chance to stop this guy, and the pain only stopped when Embiid exited the game for the final time at the end of the third quarter, having dropped a 35-6-7 line on 12/17 from the field.
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Something Nick Nurse will be happy about is that Embiid’s dominance as a scorer (and presence on the floor) did not turn their offense into The Embiid Show, and in fact, Philadelphia had some of their best ball movement of the season against Chicago. Embiid picked up several hockey assists, looking for cutters and shooters from the middle of the floor, and the whole group was bought in on hunting great shots. There was a sequence midway through the second where Embiid hit a cutting Paul George along the baseline, with George using one dribble to separate and draw a defender before dropping it off to Dominick Barlow, who scored an easy layup on the left side of the rim. Moments like that happened organically throughout the night, and it was a sight for sore eyes after all the iso-heavy offense we’ve watched since early February.
And let’s be honest — these guys beat up on the Bulls so badly that they were kind of screwing around in the second half. They put together more no-look passes in a quarter than they probably have in two months:
The other returning vet star did not have a great start on offense. Paul George was fighting it as a scorer, 1/5 from three and 2/10 from the field at halftime on a heavy diet of contested jumpers. It’s the sort of performance you just kind of shrug at, as it felt like a choice from George rather than a statement on who he can and can’t beat off the dribble. I’m much more interested in what he was able to do as a defender — George almost immediately got multiple deflections playing the passing lanes, stole the ball from the Bulls on an attempted hit-ahead pass, and offered the Sixers a lift in transition defense. That last bit wouldn’t sound too important to a casual viewer, but for anyone who has stuck with this team through thick and thin, George’s willingness to get back and fight for fast break stops makes a monumental difference for Philadelphia.
The beauty of this game was that the Sixers could afford to let George will himself into a better night on offense without worrying about the score in the second half. Out of nowhere, George found his shooting boots, hitting four consecutive shots in the third quarter, including a deep three to cap off an excellent run for him. By the time their work was over at the end of the third quarter, you had seen just about everything you could hope for. An effortless 30-ball from Embiid, two-way success for George, a massive lead over a poor Bulls team, and plenty of highlights to revel in after the game.
But George was far from done, subbing back into the game for an almost disrespectful heater, hitting several threes and a pair of mid-range pull-ups to bring his own total to 28 points. He was so hot from deep that the Bulls started doubling George all the way out to the half-court logo, and the Sixers’ bench was loving George’s moment. Watching his teammates leap and shout with joy, it was another reminder that the team circled the wagons and supported their guy no matter what the public thought of his suspension.
Beating up on the Bulls isn’t telling us a whole hell of a lot about this team’s ceiling, but damn, was it fun for these two to return and just beat the crap out of a team they are better than. With nine regular-season games left, perhaps there’s just enough time to build a bit of momentum (and improve their seed) before the playoffs begin.
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The rookie keeps getting better
If you were worried about VJ Edgecombe fading into the background now that the veteran stars are back, he put your mind at ease almost immediately, playing co-star to Embiid against the Bulls. It has been easy to forget with Embiid out of the lineup for so long, but Embiid and Edgecombe were building some special-looking chemistry in January, giving the Sixers another two-man pairing of guard and big to attack with.
The rookie’s ability to manipulate defenses is coming along, and with Embiid drawing attention in ball screens, it allowed Edgecombe to show off his passing vision and improved pace of play against the Bulls. Deep in the second quarter, Edgecombe had a pair of awesome possessions playing off of Embiid, hitting the big man with a pocket pass at the elbow on one and firing a skip pass for a Paul George corner three on the next. They looked for each other on both ends of the pick-and-roll, and best yet, Edgecombe turned down a few requests from the big man to throw him the ball, inviting the big man to come a bit further up for a screen instead. That pairing is going to be critical for a potential playoff run, and Edgecombe needs to show the confidence to wave the vet off for a better opportunity if it’s there. Sure helps make your case when you score and pass as Edgecombe did against the Bulls.
Edgecombe’s 35-point night against Oklahoma City was the year’s highest-scoring game with no free throws all season, so it felt like karmic justice that he had five free throws before halftime against Chicago. Fouled on an early three and a later drive to the basket, Edgecombe made all the right decisions as a downhill attacker, scoring his first basket on what looked like a poster dunk attempt before double-clutching and depositing a sick layup on the other side of the rim. Once again, he got himself and the team going by attacking the glass, kickstarting fast breaks the second the ball hit his hands.
It also turns out that Edgecombe might be a better shooter when every jumper he takes doesn’t need to come with a hand in his face and all the attention of the defense is on him. Chicago opted to go super small in the second half, guarding the big man with wings flooding the zone to keep the ball out of his hands. With Embiid drawing doubles, Edgecombe managed to catch the ball on the swing for multiple practice threes in the second half, stepping into them with supreme confidence.
An excellent game for the rookie, who only appears to be getting better as we near the regular season finish line.
Other notes
— As far as I can tell, Philadelphia’s 51 third-quarter points are a franchise record for a single quarter, though the available data for individual quarters doesn’t go back as far as you’d think. They also scored their most points in a single game since dropping 158 points in a game against the San Diego Rockets (?!?) in January 1970. And that was with the team effectively giving up on the game with nine minutes left.
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— I was treated to an Allen Iverson rendition of the national anthem in the tunnel before the game, which is not a sentence I ever thought I’d get to write. Cross it off the bucket list.
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