76ers vs. Raptors: What Worked for Joel Embiid in Crunch Time?

Joel Embiid bounced back against the Raptors on Friday.

Lately, Joel Embiid’s been putting together a historic run on the Philadelphia 76ers. The two-time scoring champion is once again leading the league in points per game, and based on his current stretch of games, which features over a dozen consecutive 30-point outings, it’s not difficult to tell why.

For a moment on Friday night, it seemed as if the Toronto Raptors had a chance to break Embiid’s current streak. Holding the big man to just four shot attempts in the first quarter and keeping him off the free throw line, Embiid scored just two points in 12 minutes of action.

Although Embiid started battling with a tweaked ankle early in the game, he turned up the aggression in the second quarter, making all but four of his shots and adding nine points to his total before the half. 

At halftime, Embiid was on pace to score fewer than 30 points for the first time since November 15. In the third quarter, he pretty much erased all chances of that happening against Toronto.

“I wasn’t being aggressive,” Embiid said of his first-half performance on Friday. “I think I took two shots in the first six or seven minutes.”

Glancing at the numbers on paper, it seemed Embiid took control of the night and forced his way past 30 in the second half. However, that wasn’t his approach at all.

“[I] just let the game come to me,” the big man added. “I didn’t force anything even after a few turnovers, slow starts. I didn’t force shots, came to me, and then in the third quarter I just found a bunch and made a few shots.”

By a few shots, Embiid means all but three of his nine attempts. Of course, he had to get in on some free throw action, too, knocking down four of his five foul shots. He nearly doubled his first-half scoring production in his first 12 minutes on the floor in the second half. 

Overall, Embiid kept his streak alive by scoring 31 points in 34 minutes of action. It wasn’t his shiniest performance as of late, but it was enough to help the Sixers leave Friday’s game with a trio of 30-plus-point scorers en route to a 121-111 victory.