He grimaces, he limps, he doesn't bounce… and now he suffers from facial paralysis! Poor Joel Embiid who accumulates problems, but who does not give up. Better still, he signed his best career match in the playoffs with 50 points in Game 3 against the Knicks.
This is his career best in the postseason, and he did it with formidable efficiency: 13 out of 19 on shots, including 5 out of 7 at 3-points, with 19 out of 21 on free throws. He is the first player in history to reach 50 points in the playoffs with fewer than 20 shots, and the first Sixers since Allen Iverson to reach this total.
Black glasses on his eyes, the Sixers pivot reveals at a press conference that he suffers from paralysis facial by Bell ! “It's very annoying on the left side of my face, my mouth and my eye… It's difficult, but I'm not a guy who gives up. It’s unfortunate, but I will insist” he explained. We had already noticed that his eye remained closed during Game 2 on a free throw.
On the verge of expulsion!
More than this paralysis, it is a disqualifying foul which could have prevented Joel Embiid from scoring 50 points to help the Sixers win. In a heated first quarter, the 2023 MVP stood out with an anti-play gesture on Mitchell Robinson. While he is on the ground, he catches the feet of his opponent who was coming up to the circle. He gets away with a blatant Type I foul.
We're not sure if the referees would have whistled the same thing to Draymond Green… “I never intended to hurt anyone. In this kind of situation, I try to protect myself” he defended himself. However, Mitchell Robinson later left his teammates and suffered a sprained ankle.
“They wanted to play physical, and we responded” replies Joel Embiid about this ultra intense first quarter: two flagrant fouls and a technical foul. Paradoxically, it is out wide that the Cameroonian will explode the Knicks defense. Well served by Tyrese Maxey, he made three 3-point baskets in a row to give him a 10-point lead. The break is made, and it is then, with free throws, that he will continue his demolition business. Not without calling out Jalen Brunson, guilty of “flopping” according to him.
With Joel Embiid, you never get bored!
