In must-win game for 76ers, Embiid delivers 50 points despite new physical malady

PHILADELPHIA – The 76ers-Knicks playoff series was beginning to look like a street fight, West Side Story transplanted to the Wells Fargo Center.

There was nothing theatrical about this bout.

Through the first two games and the first half of the third, the Knicks seemed to be delivering more salvos. Their determination and aggressiveness had created momentum and seized opportunity that seemed to elude the 76ers, who appeared frustrated by their inability to match it.

Three times in the first half of Game 3 Thursday night, officials had to review foul calls on the Sixers that resulted in a pair of flagrants and an offensive foul on Joel Embiid when it appeared his Knicks counterpart, Isaiah Hartenstine, had been equally guilty.

“I think we took a hell of a punch from them in the first half,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse would say later, “because I thought they were playing fast and hard and really well.”

By that time the 76ers, who trailed 58-55 at halftime, had rallied to win 125-114 in what was not an elimination game but a must-win nonetheless. It allowed them to trim New York’s lead in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference quarterfinals to 2-1 with a chance to even the series Sunday back at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Sixers didn’t so much find a way around New York as they found a way over the Knicks. A 9-for-12 3-point shooting spree in the third quarter put them ahead 98-85 entering the final period, when the 76ers repelled an avid New York comeback.

And they could do that because they had something – or someone, actually – New York did not.

Embiid made four 3-pointers during that third-quarter breakthrough and finished the night with 50 points.

In doing so, he appeared livelier, more mobile and more adept than he had the first two games, which no doubt results from his continuing recovery from knee surgery that sidelined him the last two months of the regular season.

“He keeps getting better all the time,” Nurse said afterward, a comment that makes one wonder how uniquely talented the 2023 NBA MVP really is. “I think tonight he was aggressive.”

Some of Embiid’s first-half aggressiveness may have appeared a tad foolhardy. In the second half, he seemed more intent on moving and being difficult – make that impossible – to guard instead of seeking wrestling matches.

He still had some of those, which led to repeated trips to the foul line, where he was 19-for-21. That nicely complemented his 5-for-7 3-point aim and 13-for-19 overall shooting.

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“They want to bring their physicality,” Embiid said. “We can be physical too.”

It was exactly what the 76ers needed to counteract New York’s scrappy style. But that wasn’t all he provided.

“His voice and his presence was the biggest thing,” teammate Tyrese Maxey said of Embiid’s example-setting leadership.

When Embiid sat down at the podium for his postgame press conference, he was wearing sunglasses and was asked about the recent revelation that he has been suffering from Bell’s Palsy. It’s a condition in which muscles in the face become temporarily paralyzed resulting in droopy expressions, blurry vision, sensitivity to light and sound and headaches.

“I’ve got a beautiful face,” he said. “I don’t like when my mouth is looking the other way.”

Humor aside, Embiid confessed to being mentally drained and depressed.

“It’s pretty annoying. … It’s been tough,” he said. “But I’m not a quitter, so gotta keep fighting through anything.”

That made Thursday’s performance even more prolific, coming from a player who has made a habit of playing in astounding ways while frequently battling injuries.

“I just love playing the game,” he said. “I just want to be on the floor as much as possible. I want to play as much as possible. … And I want to win.”

As usual, the Sixers likely wouldn’t have won without him Thursday.

They’ll need it again Sunday in Game 4.

“Tonight I got lucky,” he said. “I made a few shots.”

Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.