The NBA playoffs continued, and the Eastern side, as strong as the Celtics, were all defeated at home, doused by the Heat's three-point rain, and Coach Spo's on-the-spot command can be called the art of the NBA. In addition, there is no one to watch more than this round of the series between the Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks.
Before the start of G3, the Knicks repelled two attacks from the 76ers at home to take a 2-0 lead. According to the past script, the team that took the lead to win 2-0 had a very big initiative in qualifying for the series.
But from the perspective of strength, the 76ers' lineup is not inferior to the Knicks at all, and even better than the opponent. After all, after Maxey's rise this year, the 76ers have two real All-Star players, and Joel Embiid is the former leader in the MVP list, second only to Jokic's strongest center.
However, the 76ers also have concerns. First of all, Embiid has not been back from injury for a long time, and his form is not yet at his peak. Coupled with the fact that the playoff scale is not consistent with the regular season, Embiid will need to put in more effort if he wants to play the same numbers as the regular season. Embiid's multiple major injuries will also make him have some scruples when doing some moves, and the head coach does not dare to play too long.
On the Knicks' side, after Randle's season was reimbursed, Brunson really led the team as an All-Star. The Knicks are strong in the overall defense, Brunson is a forward at best, and players such as DiVincenzo, Hatten, Hart, Anunoby and other players are all very outstanding players. One statistic worth noting is that when Anunoby and Brunson played at the same time, the Knicks had a 21-2 win, which was a horrific win.
In the battle of G3, the two sides continued the traditional starting method. The Knicks are: Brunson + DiVincenzo backcourt, Hart + Anunoby play forward, and Harden guards the basket. On the 76ers' side, Lowry + Maxey started the backcourt, Oubre + Harris double-forward, and Embiid played the No. 5 position.
In the first half, the two sides were still back and forth, and Embiid's outburst in the third quarter became the turning point of the game. Embiid shot 7-of-8 in the third quarter, including 4 three-pointers, and scored 18 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in a single quarter. led the 76ers to a wave of 43-27 small climax, and Brunson's 13 points in a single quarter could not save the Lord.
After that, Embiid made consecutive free throws to maintain the point difference. Plus Maxi can also give a response, the Knicks G2 is magically not there, and in the end it can only be conceded one. The 76ers beat the Knicks 125-114 to make it 1-2.
However, a discerning person can see that the referee is secretly helping the home team, which may also be what Xiao Hua meant. Harden and Miro were in foul trouble early on. In the last quarter, Embiid continued to create kills, and they all gave. As a result, Embiid alone made 21 free throws, and the Knicks only made 19 free throws as a team.
The NBA doesn't have the thrill of top-level offense and defense, only free throws that run for fouls. But for Embiid, no matter what, it's his best game in the playoffs, and he can win games and get good statistics, and he doesn't care about what the outside world says.
In this game, Embiid played 40 minutes and 35 seconds, shooting 13 of 19 (5 of 7 three-point shots) and 19 of 21 free throws, scoring 50 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.
In the history of the NBA, only 3 center players have scored 50+ in the playoffs, namely Chamberlain, Jokic and Embiid, of which Chamberlain scored 50+ in the playoffs 4 times, and Jokic and Embiid both scored 1 time.