Has Joel Embiid Ever Scored 0 Points in a Game? Raptors Defense Once Dominated the Sixers Star

There are many things in Joel Embiid that are universally despised — from his flopping and blatant disregard for his opponents’ safety, to load management, and playoff meltdowns. However, even his most ardent detractors will agree that he’s a certified bucket-getter. The Philadelphia 76ers superstar is a two-time scoring champion, averaging over 30 points in the last three seasons. But the Toronto Raptors once managed to do the impossible — they not only limited Embiid but did not let him score at all.

On that evening in 2019, Monday the 25th of November, Embiid played 32 minutes, attempted 11 shots, including four from beyond the arc. He provided two assists, and turned the ball over four times. Joel even went 0-of-3 from the free-throw line. Clearly, he was active all around the court and played through the game as well.

Was Embiid enduring a bad shooting night? Of course, he did shoot poorly, but that was a forced outcome, thanks to the stellar gameplan implemented by Raptors head coach Nick Nurse using Marc Gasol.

Gasol was a menace that night

In 2019, Gasol, a former Defensive Player of the Year, was not quite the player he used to be. His abilities as a man-to-man defender had evidently diminished. But he still had enough tenacity to pester his opponents and the guile to make them uncomfortable. Embiid experienced all of that firsthand in this game.

The veteran followed the center everywhere on the court. He stuck to Embiid like glue, be it under the rim, in the perimeter, on a pick-and-roll, or at the three-point line. The 76ers superstar couldn’t move an inch without running into Gasol.

It threw him off his game. Embiid soon got irritated. He tried to shove the Spaniard away, even used his teammates as screen to bait the Raptors into a switch. Nothing worked.

Gasol, meanwhile, contested every shot Embiid took, and blocked from behind when he managed to break away on a few occasions.

Nurse put Embiid in the penitentiary

With their center Serge Ibaka and forward Dewan Hernandez out at the time, the Raptors had nobody big enough to guard Embiid except Gasol. So Nurse made the adjustment.

He matched up the veteran center against the 76ers superstar. Nurse only took Marc out for a breather when Embiid sat. Gasol ended up playing nearly 35 minutes, his third-heaviest workload that season.

The Spaniard played incredibly well too. However, it’s unrealistic to expect a center to play as physically as he did under the rim and not commit any fouls. Embiid did get three free throws to break the duck. However, Nurse’s mind games and Gasol’s physical pounding had done the damage. He missed.

Comparing his free throw record in the two games prior to the game against the Raptors, and the four games that followed, Embiid banked 63 of his 73 attempts from the charity stripe, an 86.3% conversion rate. However, he got the yips against Toronto.

To his credit, the 76ers superstar tried until the game’s end to break free from Gasol and get a bucket. He finally created one opportunity late in the fourth quarter, only to be denied with an incredibly smart play from OG Anunoby.

Anunoby came at the clutch to keep Embiid scoreless

Despite Embiid’s dismal night, the 76ers found a way to stay in the game and even had the lead with under three minutes left in the fourth quarter. Philadelphia needed their superstar center to get one bucket to go up four points and take control of the proceedings. They set up the perfect play too.

Point guard Ben Simmons dumped the ball off to forward Tobias Harris, who waited at the top of the key for his teammate to set a screen for Embiid in the perimeter. As soon as the center came off it and Simmons cut off Gasol, Harris passed the ball to the superstar, who had to get past the smaller Anunoby for a layup or a dunk.

However, Anunoby read the play perfectly and stood his ground.

He carefully avoided the restricted area, got his feet set, and drew an offensive foul from Embiid. The Raptors then went on a 7-0 run in the final two and a half minutes to secure the win.

Nurse knew keeping the center at bay was key to Toronto’s victory. He had already used that strategy to great effect just a few months prior.

Embiid’s horror series against the Raptors

In the 2018-19 season, the 76ers boasted a super team featuring Embiid, Harris, Simmons, and guard Jimmy Butler. They flexed their muscles in the first round of the playoff against the Brooklyn Nets, sweeping them 4-0, with their superstar center leading the charge.

He averaged 24.8 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in the series, and was expected to deliver more of the same in the second round against the Raptors. However, Nurse and the team had other ideas.

Armed with an incredible defensive quartet of Gasol, Ibaka, guard Kawhi Leonard, and forward Pascal Siakam, the Raptors pestered Embiid throughout the series. In that incredible seven-game duel, Toronto held the center to under 20 points five times.

He scored 21 in Game 1 and had 33 in Game 5. Outside of those two outings, he endured the same physical pounding he was subjected to in the game where he scored 0 points months later.

To add insult to injury, Leonard hit the iconic buzzer-beating series-winner in Game 7 over Embiid’s outstretched hand, capping off a miserable fortnight with a painful gut punch.

Many believed the next time the 76ers superstar played in Toronto, he would avenge that brutal loss. Instead, he had the worst game of his career.