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Final Score: Sixers 125 Knicks 114
Series Score after result: New York lead 2-1
Embiid‘s stat line: 50 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 13-of-19 FGs, 5-of-7 3PTs, 1 block, +16 rating
It was a game the Sixers had to have. After a couple of hard-fought losses in New York to open the first-round series against the Knicks, including a controversial Game 2 loss, Philadelphia returned home with its backs against the wall.
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For the most part, the first two games of the series followed a similar script. The two teams appeared to be evenly matched, but New York was winning on the margins enough to pull through in tight games. The Knicks appeared to be the hungrier team at Madison Square Garden, getting to more loose balls than the Sixers and doing a better job of creating second chances on offense. The first two quarters of Game 3 were similar in that regard. New York led by two points after the first 12 minutes and by three points at halftime. Embiid appeared to be on his way to another strong stat line, with 17 points at intermission.
But Philly’s star player had 34 points in Game 2 and 29 points in Game 1 and the Sixers fell short in both games. Sensing the gravity of the moment, Embiid raised his level in the third quarter when Game 3 resumed. In just the third quarter alone, he more than doubled his 17 points in the first half, playing all 12 minutes of the period and scoring 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the quarter and a stellar 4-of-4 from the three-point line. Suddenly a three-point halftime deficit turned into a 13-point lead at the end of the third.
Embiid was sending a message that the Sixers were not going down without a fight against one of their bitter rivals. One of his many strengths is his free-throw shooting ability which is better than most seven footers. Embiid went 12-of-13 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter and the Sixers coasted to an 11-point win and trimmed New York’s lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven opening round series.
The Knicks would go on to win two of the next three and close the series out in six games. But this was very much a back-and-forth series that could have…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/joel-embiid-best-playoff-games-152709244.html
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Publish date : 2026-09-18 15:27:00
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