Joel Embiid rarely shies away from calling out the naysayers of his game. During the Philadelphia 7ers-Minnesota Timberwolves matchup, Embiid recorded a 51-point performance. Following the scoring outburst, the big man hilariously took shots at himself to clap back at all the detractors.
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Embiid is often criticized for flopping and being awarded abundant free throws. Tonight, during the postgame press conference, the 2023 Most Valuable Player sarcastically took shots at himself, admitting that he was “stat padding” to reach the 51-point mark.
With 1:49 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, JoJo missed a free throw that would’ve been his 50th point of the game. Despite the 76ers leading by 12 points during the game’s dying minutes, Embiid kept going, chasing a 50-point game instead of subbing out.
Merely three seconds after missing his 18th free throw attempt of the contest, the 29-year-old knocked down a midrange jumper. Once he reached the 51-point mark, the Sixers intentionally committed a foul to get Embiid on the bench.
Talking about his final play, Embiid jokes with reporters present stating that he missed the free throw on purpose, as seen in the X (Formerly Twitter) post by Daniel Olinger. Of course, in doing so, the 7-footer was mocking all of his naysayers.
“I missed it on purpose. I guess the lights were too bright… So I decided to stat pad and take the last shot to get 50,” Embiid hilariously said.
It isn’t hard to see why Embiid is in such a jovial mood despite the allegations about him and stat-padding. The 76ers have a record of 19-8, good for third in the Eastern Conference at the moment. The franchise has won a whopping seven of its last 10 games, and with Tyrese Maxey playing phenomenally as well, Philly looks better than ever before.
Joel Embiid records his season-high in points
The Philadelphia 76ers-Minnesota Timberwolves matchup was expected to be much more competitive than it turned out to be. The All-Star duo of Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns played very well, combining for 60 points and 20 rebounds. However, their brilliance was eclipsed by the performances of Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid.
Maxey continued to make his case for an All-Star selection, recording 35 points and 5 assists in 37 minutes. The guard outplayed Anthony Edwards, despite the Wolves player’s superstar leap. However, Embiid was the undisputed star of the night. The five-time All-NBA member lodged his season-high in points (51) and also grabbed 12 rebounds.
His second 50-point performance of the season was much more impressive than the first one considering the opponent. The Timberwolves are ranked as the best defense in the league. Despite the presence of Rudy Gobert as well as Karl-Anthony Towns, reaching the 50-point milestone is certainly a spectacular feat.
Embiid has been known for his stellar offensive performances. In this campaign, there were a total of eight occasions when he didn’t even take on the floor for the entirety of the final period. Averaging 35.1 points per game, The Process is leading the entire league in scoring and is a huge reason behind Philly’s success.
Currently placed third in the East, with Maxey also sharing a huge portion of the team’s offensive load, Embiid is well-equipped with the required skill set to lead the Philadelphia side to a deep playoff run.
