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Tim PontempsESPN
After the Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid He exhausted the path to the free throw line in a 117-109 win over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night, the Celtics keeper Marcus Smart He expressed his dissatisfaction with the way the match was being conducted.
Empyid made free throws and took more than the Celtics did as a team, with 17 of 21 going off the line compared to 13 of Boston’s 20. The Sixers finished 36 out of 45 as a team.
“It can’t be beat,” said Smart. “It’s hard to win this way.”
It’s hard to win, in this period, when Embiid – who finished with 42 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and a 2 steal – plays as he did against Boston, as he went on to make a strong case in the competition for the league. Best player award during the first month of the season.
No matter which defender thrown at him – whether that be Tristan Thompson, Who started, or Daniel Theiss, Which closed – Empiide was working his way up, scoring double digits in each of the first three quarters and then scoring six points in the final seven minutes, along with a major heist, to help keep the Celtics out.
Part of that extension, however, included Embiid making three trips to the Rotten Line – trips Smart thought he had made, in part, by beautifying the connection.
It’s tough, Smart said. “It’s tough. Especially when we raise our hands a lot often, pisses and gets the call, and then on the other end, we have guys attack the edge, they get a lot of calling, and we just don’t whistle. It’s hard to play that way. It’s tough.”
“If the turns were reversed, I would have done it every time. I mean, it would be if every time I lifted my arm up or every time I touched, I would go to the free throw line. I mean, it’s kind of hard not to get into a rhythm with this. The method is when you shoot 21 free throws alone and allow you to penetrate from the other end.
“It’s difficult, but we fought. The team did a good job. We were there to give ourselves a win and try to get the ball back on Friday.”
During his post-match interview, Embiid was informed of Smart’s comments. Naturally, the big guy had a few ideas about how Smart would see the game, stating that Smart has been somewhat known to sell calls to officials.
“Marcus Smart just told me I knocked out too much?” Ambed said. “Come on. I’m sure he knows himself, he knows his game too, he’s doing a lot of it. And I don’t think I do. I mean, if you’re watching basketball and if you’re a student from the game and if you really pay attention during the game, we’ll see all wrong. Maybe they don’t call them all, like last time. Three minutes stayed, I came up, and this was a mistake and they knew it, but they didn’t call it. So there’s a lot that they don’t call, and there’s a lot that they call because you have to.
“The game is physical. Other teams tend to put in a bit more physical effort against me. I think I’m smarter than everyone else. I just use it. I just benefit from the way they guard me. You can call that, I don’t know, basketball IQ, as well.” If you were to raise your hand there, I would take advantage of it and reach the free throw line, because I know that. I am a great free-throw player and this is a better opportunity for me to help the team win in those situations. “
What was clear on Wednesday was that, even if a call or two could be argued, Embiid was the dominant character in the game. With Jason Tatum Seated, the Celtics had four players who had scored at least 19 points: Jaylen Brown (26), Smart (25), Theis (23) and Kimba Walker (19 in just 22 minutes).
But despite this offensive production, the Celtics couldn’t do anything with the 7-foot, 280-pound Embiid overnight. He used its volume feature to get a clean look at basket after basket.
When Celtics coach Brad Stevens was asked about Embiid’s repeated attempts at philanthropy, he simply said his team had to do a better job of keeping him from going there.
Stevens said, “We have to do our best to play without pollution. I’ll come back and look at each one, to see what we can do better. He will score some goals, but 42 is too much. It will be hard to win the match when the best player on the other team scores.” 42 points.
“You have to go back to how we can be better. Not only did he score those points, he handled the double well on two occasions that led to three points. He had a huge impact on the game tonight, and he was great.”
Wednesday’s match was the second in eight days, with Embiid scoring 40 points at home against his colleague in the Eastern Conference. He scored 45 points, including 35 in the second half and extra time, on January 12 against the Miami Heat.
The victory improved Philadelphia to 10-2 when they play Embiid this season. Coach Doc Rivers and his Empiide teammates sang praises afterward.
“He’s not some kind, he’s definitely the best caliber [play],” He said Tobias HarrisWho got 22 points. “ Night after night, he’s controlling the game and controlling paint.
“[He’s] Sure, we’ve put together the year of MVP, and one of the biggest things is that we keep keeping it game-by-game, progressing, and even he himself continues to progress, throughout this year. But I’m happy for him because he is what he did, and when you win, or succeed as a team, you get that kind of fame for sure. “
