At first he was ruled out, but then after warmups Joel Embiid said he was good enough to play despite suffering from a sprained right hand. Embiid was solid on offense, although he appeared to wins at times, shaking his hand. He made his greatest impact on defense. In the first half, Embiid had four blocked shots and the Sixers took a 60-49 lead at intermission. Pau Gasol, a future Hall of Famer, wanted no part of going inside on Embiid. Journeyman Joffrey Lauvergne unwisely tried to take Embiid inside a few times. For all his scoring, Embiid’s interior defense can deflate a team and San Antonio was much more willing to take it to the hoop when Embiid was on the bench.
Sixers 112, Spurs 106: Joel Embiid's huge impact and other quick observations
