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Blazers’ Chauncey Billups Applauds Joel Embiid’s Big Moment

Chauncey Billups issued credit to Joel Embiid after hitting the game-winning shot on Friday night.

Justin Grasso

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After trailing all game long on Friday night against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Philadelphia 76ers had roughly seven seconds left in the game to take their first lead of the night. Coming out of a timeout, the Sixers made the obvious effort to get the ball to Joel Embiid.

With 37 points to his name already, Embiid proved he was the go-to guy in that situation. Having Portland center Jusuf Nurkic one-on-one, Embiid looked to drive to the basket in hopes of powering his way to the hoop for a basket or a foul. 

When Portland’s star guard Damian Lillard came in to help, Embiid had to switch gears. A quick spin and a fadeaway shot from 13 feet out gave the Sixers chance to snag a one-point lead.

Fortunately for Philly, the big man’s shot was successful.

“We made him work for it,” said Blazers’ head coach Chauncey Billups. “I mean, we went and cut him off, he [spun], it was just a hell of a shot.”

Finishing the night one-point shy of dropping 40 points for the 12th time this year, Embiid helped the Sixers complete their 120-119 win. 

“He's that type of player,” Billups finished. “You get those types of guys in those types of situations. I mean, you just want to try to get the last look, so my guy can do the same thing, but it just didn't add up.”

Like the Sixers, the Blazers have a proven clutch star shooter who has proven he can win his team games off of last-second attempts in Damian Lillard. While Portland got the ball in his hands for a final offensive possession, Lillard’s shot was late and failed to fall successfully anyway.

With a win over Portland, the Sixers took the Blazers down for the second and final time this year. They are now 44-22 on the year, creeping up on the Eastern Conference’s second seed. 

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

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA

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