Sixers Bell Ringer: Embiid playoff career-high 50 points takes Game 3 for Sixers

A causal playoff career-high 50 points from Joel Embiid led the Philadelphia 76ers to a 125-114 win in Game 3 over the New York Knicks on Thursday.

Things got chippy early in this one. Three reviews, two Flagrant 1 fouls for the Sixers (Kyle Lowry and Joel Embiid), a little shoving and shouting between teams, all in the first period! After the dust settled on the frame, the Knicks held a narrow 29-27 point lead.

Fouls affected both teams in the first half, with Embiid and New York’s Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson each with three fouls already in the second. Embiid’s foul situation had an unfortunate effect on the Sixers’ defense, that suffered when the Knicks started funneling their offense towards him knowing he would have to be more passive. He somewhat made up for it, however, scoring 11 of the Sixers’ 28 second-period points and keeping his team close. The Knicks held a three-point lead at halftime.

Philadelphia quickly took over the lead thanks to a hot hand from Tyrese Maxey, who put up 10 points in the first five minutes of the third after scoring just 11 total the entire first half. Then Embiid got back to work, hitting back-to-back-to-back threes (and one last triple at the end of the period for good measure). A little help from the likes of Kelly Oubre Jr., Kyle Lowry and Cam Payne to top it off was exactly what the Sixers needed to put some distance between themselves and the Knicks.

The Sixers took a 13-point lead into the final frame, tying the biggest advantage they’ve held over the Knicks this entire series so far. But, as we all know, it all comes down to the Embiid-less minutes. Fortunately, the Sixers survived the stint, still leading by nine when the big man checked back in. The Knicks weren’t going away, battling the entire way. They briefly cut the lead down to single digits with about a minute to play but the Sixers stood strong, thanks in no small part to 15 more points from Embiid. The Sixers earned their first win in the series in Game 3 by a score of 125-114.

The Knicks lead the series 2-1. The teams will remain in South Philadelphia for Game 4 set for Sunday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center.

Until then, let’s get to the Bell Ringer... though I have a feeling who’s going to win the voting for this one.

It wasn’t even a perfect first half for Embiid. He seemed to be a bit more emotional to start things off Thursday night than usual, and not always for the better. He had a couple of moments that looked like frustration getting the better of him, including a silly foul on defense that ended up being an early Flagrant 1. He already had three fouls by the second frame. That meant the Knicks funneling their offense towards him, and the Sixers’ defense suffered as a result.

All that being said, he was doing pretty much everything else at a top level. He looked incredibly mobile and physical, was hitting his jumpers, finishing at the cup, drawing contact and hitting his free throws. Embiid led the Sixers at halftime with 17 points on 5-for-9 field goal shooting and 7-for-8 from the charity stripe.

Halftime had some sort of effect on him, and he emerged in Steph Curry mode. He took his talents outside the arc in the third, hitting back-to-back-to-back triples and then tacking on a fourth three at the end of the frame for good measure. Embiid totaled 18 points on 7-for-8 field goal shooting (4-for-4 from long range) in the third period alone to put the Sixers out in front.

With the Knicks not going down easy, Embiid took it upon himself to slam the door shut, putting up another 15 points in the fourth. From 17 points at halftime, to a playoff career-high 50 for Embiid.

This might have been one of the best nights of his career in terms of shooting — 13-for-19 from the floor, 5-for-7 on triples, and 19-for-21 from the line. He also had eight rebounds, four assists and a block. And, for what it’s worth, he never had another foul the rest of the game after his early issues.

But seriously. 50 points on 19 shots.

Maxey didn’t have the best first half. He had 11 points, the second-highest scorer for the Sixers behind Embiid, but shot just 3-for-10 from the floor and 1-for-4 from long range.

He must have had his Wheaties at halftime or something, because he looked like a totally different shooter in the third. After that 11-point first half, he scored 10 points in the first five minutes of the third, shooting 4-for-5 from the floor with two triples in that timeframe. This was a crucial swing point in the game where the Sixers turned their deficit into a lead over the Knicks. He opened up the fourth with two more back-to-back buckets to round out his night offensively.

It was a burst or bust night for Maxey, admittedly. But the burst came at just the right time. That’s not even mentioning the fact that he has been pretty great defensively recently and tonight was a continuation of that.

He finished with 25 points, four rebounds, seven assists and two steals.

Oh, and congratulations again to Maxey on being this season’s NBA Most Improved Player. He was officially given the award before the game tonight.

Absolutely have to give Oubre his flowers for Thursday night’s game because, even if it wasn’t big bursts of scoring, he delivered every time he was called upon offensively.

He put up a quick eight points in the first on 3-for-5 field goal shooting before his contributions began to spread out a bit more. Throughout the rest of the game, Oubre’s buckets were peppered throughout a performance of great defense, aggressive rebounding and overall excellent energy as per usual. He finished with 15 points on 6-for-8 field goal shooting and 2-for-4 from long range.

This is the type of help the Sixers need surrounding Embiid and Maxey if they want to win these games. It doesn’t have to be insane runs or flashy highlights, it doesn’t even have to be perfect, but the supporting cast of this team needs to deliver when they are given the opportunities. That’s what Oubre did tonight.

Applying the same logic as what I said about Oubre here. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t need to be a million points. Just help out. Payne did that!

Payne put up eight points in his first four minutes on the floor (including back-to-back triples) in the second period. He tacked on another triple in the third pushing the Sixers’ lead to double-digits. Not to mention that he was also egging on the crowd in South Philadelphia, and you got to love that. He may have even earned himself another look from coach Nick Nurse going forward.

Payne finished with 11 points (three triples), a rebound, three assists and two blocks in 15:40 coming off the bench.