PJ Tucker Believes Joel Embiid's Defense Sparked Career-Night

Joel Embiid scored a ton of points against the Jazz on Sunday night, but PJ Tucker believes his defense was his most impressive feat.

Sunday night’s game against the Utah Jazz seemed like a one-man show for the Philadelphia 76ers at a point during the second half. 

As Sixers center Joel Embiid accounted for a majority of the team’s points late in the game and made several impressive defensive plays, the 76ersstandout put on a performance that head coach Doc Rivers described as the most dominating all-around performance he’s ever seen.

Defensively, Embiid snagged ten of his 11 total rebounds. He also swatted seven shots, which tied the big man’s career-high. Embiid also snatched one steal to add to his impressive stat line on the defensive end.

Offensively, Embiid had the best performance of his career. As he drained 68 percent of his shots from the field and knocked down 20 of his 24 free throws, Embiid produced a career-high of 59 points. 

While his near 60-point performance was all of the talk beyond the game, 76ers forward PJ Tucker was more moved by what Embiid put on display defensively after the Sixers’ Sunday night victory against the Jazz in South Philly.

“It’s even more impressive on defense and protecting the rim,” said Tucker after Sunday’s game. “Being that low-man consistently all night. To me, that was bigger than all the points he scored. The big things he did on defense, he communicated better today, and I think that stuff makes him tick a little more into our offense because he’s so in-tune with the game.”

Embiid locked in defensively when the Sixers needed him the most. In the fourth quarter, Embiid collected five of his seven blocks in 11 minutes of action. During the final quarter of action, Embiid and the Sixers’ defense held Utah to just 20 points, their lowest quarterly scoring total of the night.

Several Sixers players stressed throughout the first stretch of the season that the Sixers’ offensive success is inspired by what they do on the defensive end first. As Embiid was locked in defensively on Sunday night, PJ Tucker believes the All-Star big man red-hot from the floor as a result. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.