The final seconds of Tuesday’s Philadelphia 76ers-Toronto Raptors game are not going on any Joel Embiid highlight reels.
The Cameroonian big man had a chance to play hero in the closing moments of the contest at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa. The Sixers had the ball trailing 105-103 with 20 seconds left.
Tyrese Maxey ran a high pick-and-roll with Embiid as the screener. Both defenders followed Maxey, who passed it back to a completely wide-open Embiid at the top of the key. Embiid had all the time in the world to load up a clean shot that could have put the 76ers ahead.
Instead, Embiid inexplicably drove into a crowd of three Raptors and lost the ball. Toronto stole possession and held on for a 106-103 victory.
Embiid was so open that none of the Raptors defenders even bothered trying to close out. Luckily for them, the 76ers center decided to meet them in the middle.
Fans on X universally clowned Embiid for passing up a potential go-ahead shot just to turn the ball over.
Embiid did not have a bad game based on the box score. He finished with a game-high 27 points and 12 rebounds on 8/19 shooting. Embiid is also still working his way back from a knee injury that just recently sidelined him for 15 games.
But patience is wearing thin for Embiid amongst both the 76ers’ front office and the team’s fan base alike. Mistakes like the one in Tuesday’s game won’t help rebuild his damaged reputation one bit.
