Joel Embiid leads 76ers to inspirational win over Hawks: ‘He demands greatness in all of us’

The 76ers’ win in Atlanta against a thriving Hawks team had Joel Embiid pump the whistle.

Philadelphia scored a 98-96 victory despite being 10 points ahead with less than 10 minutes left. The Hawks entering this competition have won eight of their last nine with the tournament of best offense in that period. Also, this is Philly’s first victory claim in almost a month since it beat the Bulls on Nov.

Since that win, the team has dropped to a 3-9 record in 12 games. Both Embiid and Tobias Harris missed the stretch in that period after testing positive for COVID-19.

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So it’s no surprise that Embiid is so excited.

The 76ers turned the tide of this match with their defense, limiting the Hawks to only 9 points in the 4th half while scoring 20 points themselves.

Playing his fourth game since returning from COVID-19, Embiid played all 12 minutes of the fourth half and was in charge of seven of the team’s final 12 points.

The grandmaster’s final tally of 28 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks is huge for the 76ers to be suitable for this game without Harris, who missed the game due to non-COVID illness, here is his 9th game to miss (possibly 17) since November 1.

With Embiid back in full with medium 24.8 points, 12.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.3 saves since his return, the 76ers will be looking to use this statement to win over the Hawks to turn the season around. their game and start winning like they had at the start of the season. 8-2.

“He was very fierce. You can only see it in his eyes,” Embiid teammate Georges Niang said after the game. “He wants to win so badly. He demands greatness from all of us, and he demands greatness from himself.”

That said, it won’t be easy. Heading into December, the 76ers have the Eastern Conference’s second-toughest schedule of the month and third-hardest overall based on their opponent’s percentage of wins, each NBA.com’s John Schuhmann.

Here is their upcoming schedule:

Currently sitting at 9th in the East with a 12-11 record, only time will tell how the 76ers will move on in the upcoming games.