Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid reminded everyone just how dominant he can be with an epic performance, dropping 59 points as he fueled the Sixers to a victory over the Utah Jazz Sunday night at Wells Fargo Center.
Along with his 59 points, Embiid added 11 rebounds, 8 assists and 7 blocks in 36 minutes to give the 76ers a 105-98 victory.
“This is not about me,” Embiid said, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. “We did it as a team. Obviously, the coaches put me in those positions and my teammates fed me the ball.
“I thought we had great spacing around everything we were doing. … Like I said, all the credit goes to my teammates.”
According to ESPN Stats & Information research, Embiid did the following with his performance against Utah:
- He became the first player with at least 50 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocks in a game since blocks became an official stat in 1973-74.
• He became the first player to register at least 20 points and five blocks in a single quarter in the past 25 seasons.
• He became the first player to outscore both teams by himself in a fourth quarter (26-21) since Tracy McGrady in 2006.
• He became the fourth player — along with Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Bradley Beal — to score at least 100 points across a back-to-back since the NBA-ABA merger, and the first center to do so since Wilt Chamberlain in 1967.
“The best way for me to get back to where I was before I got sick was to be on the floor, and just play,” Embiid said. “That’s really the only way. All the bikes and treadmills, that doesn’t work for me. So, for me, the only way for me to get where I want to be is playing in practices and games.”
