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The Philadelphia 76ers entered Monday evening’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers with the best record in the Eastern Conference. Much of that dominance can be traced to the stellar play of Joel Embiid, with the All-NBA center mounting a serious charge in the NBA MVP race as the All-Star break nears. In this particular game, Embiid was matched up heavily against Myles Turner, who leads the NBA in blocked shots and is performing at a high level for the Pacers.
While Embiid and Turner didn’t square off for the entirety of the 27 minutes in which Embiid played, he was thoroughly dominant, scoring 24 points (on 10-of-17 shooting), pulling down 13 rebounds and dishing out five assists in what became a 130-114 victory.
𝙶𝙰𝙼𝙴 𝙷𝙸𝙶𝙷𝙻𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃𝚂
Indiana Pacers | 03.01.21
presented by @PALottery pic.twitter.com/tfzdC4MZLq
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) March 2, 2021
That kind of effort wasn’t out of the ordinary for Embiid this season and, after the game, he provided a quote that made the rounds in a hurry. Embiid indicated his respect for Turner but, at the same time, made it clear that he has “dominated” that individual battle through the years. Respectfully, of course.
Joel Embiid on playing against Myles Turner: “I say this respectfully, but that’s a matchup I’ve dominated since I got to the league.” pic.twitter.com/JGxeRdFCsM
— Sergen (@sergenkumas) March 2, 2021
To be fair to Turner, few players have good numbers against Embiid, and he is a unique force in the modern NBA. However, Embiid entered the night averaging 28.4 points and 12.6 rebounds per game in 10 contests against Indiana in his career, and that speaks for itself. Ironically, Embiid’s scoring average against the Pacers will actually drop after this game, largely because the 76ers led comfortably and he was able to sit, but it is safe to say that Embiid left his mark on the floor and then again on the podium after the final buzzer.
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