Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid scored a flashy 42 points Nov. 12 to get his team a 121-109 win over the Atlanta Hawks, and in casual business, Embiid simply stated after the game that he was doing “whatever it takes” to get his team the victory.
At that current moment, nobody had any idea what was in store 24 hours later when the Sixers took on the Utah Jazz.
Embiid had an historic performance Nov. 13 against the Jazz, putting up a career-high 59 points to go along with a mesmerizing stat line of 11 rebounds, eight assists and seven blocks — landing the incredible numbers in 36 minutes of action. Embiid also helped Philadelphia get the 105-98 victory over Utah.
Joel Embiid followed up his 42-point performance last night with 59 points and a MASSIVE stat line! #BrotherlyLove@JoelEmbiid: 59 PTS (26 PTS in Q4), 11 REB, 8 AST, 7 BLK pic.twitter.com/7bar9acnG4
— NBA (@NBA) November 14, 2022
You could legitimately make the argument that he solely won the game for the team. Embiid scored 26 of the team’s 27 points in the fourth quarter to carry the team over the finish line. Out of his seven blocks, he got five of them in the fourth quarter.
Joel Embiid’s clutch-gene was in full effect.
Not just that, but Embiid also broke a load of records in the process, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
- Ever since the NBA started recording blocks as a stat in the 1973-74 season, Joel Embiid is the only player (becoming the first) to record a stat line of at least 50 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five blocks in a game.
- In the last 25 years, Joel Embiid is the only player to record at least 20 points and five blocks in just one quarter.
- Last being done by Tracy McGrady in 2006, Joel Embiid is the first player since then to outscore an entire team by himself in the fourth quarter. He did so against the Jazz, 26-21.
- Since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976, there have only been four players who have racked up at least 100 points in back-to-back games: Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Bradley Beal and now Joel Embiid. Embiid is also the first center to accomplish this feat since Wilt Chamberlain did in 1967.
Holy hell, what an incredible game for Joel Embiid, and that’s a serious understatement.
I remember when I worked for a Pennsylvania newspaper as a sports editor and one of the teams we covered was the Philadelphia 76ers. This was back between 2016-2018, so this was at a time when Embiid was still getting hurt constantly and trolling people on Twitter. He’d eventually start getting better, but him and Philly weren’t really doing anything mind-blowing, though I respect the way the Sixers run their team — they obviously want to win basketball games.
But this performance? It is mind-blowing.
Points:
59 — Joel Embiid tonight
47 — Ben Simmons this season pic.twitter.com/l7r3MbzjBs— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 14, 2022
My man is out here single-handedly out-scoring teams by himself, and in the fourth quarter at that to literally carry the Sixers to victory. Oh, and doing this while putting himself in the history books, for multiple different records. Remember when Joel Embiid used to say “trust the process”?
If you trusted it, and Embiid, you’re starting to see the pay-off now. This dude is literally doing things that only Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Wilt Chamberlain have done, pulling similar numbers to an iconic figure like Tracy McGrady. This is where Joel Embiid is now. (RELATED: LeBron Claims He Needs To ‘Learn How To Flop’ In Sweet Irony)
When the Philadelphia 76ers get going, and they will, this team is going to be scary as hell come playoff time with the eliteness of Joel Embiid leading the way. Another championship appearance for the city?
Shout out to Philly!