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NBA Fans Rave About Joel Embiid's Dominance in 76ers-Blazers Battle

Joel Embiid had a big game against the Blazers.

Justin Grasso

Dec 30, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) shoots the ball over Portland Trail Blazers forward Kris Murray (24) during the first half at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-Imagn Images
Dec 30, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) shoots the ball over Portland Trail Blazers forward Kris Murray (24) during the first half at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-Imagn Images / Soobum Im-Imagn Images
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Once again, the Philadelphia 76ers entered a matchup with Joel Embiid on the injury report listed as questionable. While that’s been the trend lately, so has taking the court and playing. After getting cleared for action against the Portland Trail Blazers, Embiid checked in for a normal shift. The veteran center put together a dominant showing.

In 36 minutes, Embiid put up 21 shots from the field. He also got to the free-throw line for 13 attempts. Embiid made all but one of his shots from the charity stripe. After going 12-21 from the field, he produced 37 points, marking the game-high for the matchup.

In addition to his near-40-point outing, Embiid was one rebound shy of a double-double. He also tacked on three assists.

The 2024-2025 NBA season hasn’t gone as planned for Embiid. While he anticipated missing action throughout the year as part of an injury management plan, Embiid dealt with multiple setbacks in the process.

A suspension put his debut on hold by an additional two games. Knee swelling prevented him from playing for seven games. The sinus fracture he’s still recovering from forced the big man to miss a game. Back-to-backs then took him off the court for two outings as well.

Leading up to Monday’s game, Embiid averaged 22 points, seven rebounds, and four assists in ten games.

Monday’s matchup was a season-high in scoring, which helped the Sixers pick up their fourth win in a row for the first time this season.

NBA Fans Rave About Joel Embiid vs. Blazers

@Will_Rucker3_AD: The Joel Embiid that makes up his mind that he’s going to bully you to the rim and there’s nothing you can do about it but surrender a layup or foul, is my favorite version of Joel Embiid

@PresidentEmbiid: Once Joel’s mask is off he’s 100% going back to BITW convos, unreal player

@pointmadebball: Love him or hate him, Joel Embiid is one of the most skilled big men to ever touch the court. When healthy, there’s only a handful of active players as difficult to stop as Joel

@BDR1ZZZYYY: “Sit the season out” “tank for Flagg”

@Sixerdaily: Embiid 30 point games are the norm again 🙂‍↕️

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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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