Joel Embiid was not having any of the criticism that the Philadelphia 76ers have had to hear after the first two losses of the ongoing series against the New York Knicks. Keeping naysayers silent, Embiid recorded his best performance of the postseason yet. For it, apart from keeping the Philly side in the series with a Game 3 win, the 2023 MVP also received lofty compliments from diehard Knicks fan – Kendrick Perkins.
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In Game 3, Joel Embiid had his best outing since returning from injury (3rd April). The 30-year-old took the team’s offensive load on his shoulder and produced a historic 50-point outing. JoJo’s efficiency is also what makes his production so special – 68.4% from the field, 71.4% from three-point range, and 90.5% from the free-throw line, per NBA.com. The is showing not only impressed the supporters of the 76ers, but even left the New York fans in awe.
Despite his love for the Knicks, Kendrick Perkins was able to show his admiration for Embiid’s 50-point display. As soon as the bout concluded, the ESPN analyst took to X (formerly “Twitter”) and lauded the seven-time All-Star for going on a scoring rampage despite having one leg injured.
“A 50 piece on 1 drumstick is crazy!!! Must needed win by the 76ers led by Embiid best playoff performance of Career! Still got Knicks in 6 tho. Carry on…”
Perk’s mention of the “1 drumstick” in his tweet, is a reminder to the fact that Embiid has still not fully recovered from the knee injury he sustained at the end of January.
That said, while most fans were in awe, not every New York supporter was as appreciative of Joel’s performance as Perkins was. Shedding light on the first-quarter antics of Embiid that resulted in Mitchell Robinson playing for only 11:58 minutes in the contest, these fans were left infuriated by the disparity in the two teams’ free throws during this contest. Explaining how the 7ft superstar attempted two more free throws than Tom Thibodeau’s entire squad, fans dismissed the two-time scoring champ’s playoff career-high performance.
Irrespective of whether the performance was “clean” or not, Joel Embiid’s game-winning performance has resulted in the Sixers breathing a sigh of relief. Due to the 125-114 victory, Nick Nurse’s side only trails the Knicks 1-2 in the series. Having gained some kind of momentum, the All-Star duo of Embiid and Tyrese Maxey will aim to even the series up in Game 4 on Sunday.
