A pair of Eastern Conference powerhouses squared off on Wednesday night in Philadelphia, as the No. 1 Sixers and the No. 3 Celtics each looked to assert their dominance here in the first third of the regular season in what could be a preview of a postseason showdown later this spring.
In the end, it was the Sixers who escaped with the 117-19 win, behind a monster night from Joel Embiid, who put up 42 points and 10 rebounds on 12-for-19 shooting for the game. But there was one stat in particular that had at least one of his opponents on the Celtics scratching his head.
Embiid got to the line 21 times in this contest, converting 17 of those attempts, compared to the Celtics’ 20 total free-throw attempts on the night, a discrepancy that Marcus Smart seemed to chalk up to some convincing acting jobs on the part of Embiid. But don’t worry, Embiid found that accusation coming from the likes of Smart — who’s notorious for overselling contact — just as hilarious as the rest of us.
Joel Embiid, on Marcus Smart calling him a flopper: "Marcus Smart just told me that I flail a lot? Come on. I'm sure he knows himself and he knows his game. You know he does a lot of that."
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) January 21, 2021
Embiid, continued: "The game is physical, other teams tend to try to be extra physical against me, and I guess I'm just smarter than everybody else…If you're gonna put your hand up there, I'm gonna take advantage of it and I'm gonna get to the free-throw line." https://t.co/6pw5ihNqbE
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) January 21, 2021
Of course, Embiid can hardly claim innocence.
The rare double flop 😭
(via @ESPNNBA)pic.twitter.com/2A9IdxfOVf
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) January 21, 2021
Regardless, it was a dominant performance from Embiid, who posted his second 40-point game in his last three outings as the Sixers hang on to the top seed in the East.
