In what has become an all-too-familiar scene for Sixers fans, Joel Embiid drove to the basket, fell awkwardly and then clutched his knee in obvious pain. In a game that was far too close for comfort against the Trae Young-less Hawks, Embiid gutted out the rest of the fourth quarter — and they needed him to.
Coming off a 50 piece Wednesday in D.C., Embiid was dominant yet again in a 125-114 win Friday that was much closer than the score would indicate. Atlanta bullied their way into a 45-point second quarter and took a six-point lead into halftime.