Coming off a poor loss for Philadelphia to the Wizards on Monday afternoon, Joel Embiid looked determined early on to ensure there was not a repeat effort back at the Wells Fargo Center tonight. The big man made a prolonged bid to outscore all other players from both teams combined for a good chunk of this first quarter. He eventually settled with a lofty 20 first-quarter points as the Sixers led 25-21 after the opening frame.
Strangely, though, Joel would not be the most impactful seven-footer in the game’s first half. Embiid slowed off his Kobe-dropping-81 pace, and it became the Mo Bamba show.