Sixers massive man Joel Embiid had missed out on 29 straight NBA video games as a result of a left meniscus damage and at last made his return to the courtroom in opposition to the Thunder on Tuesday night time.
Philly dropped from fifth place to eighth within the East throughout his absence, however picked up proper the place they left off after getting the 109-105 win in opposition to first seed within the West – OKC.
Embiid recorded 24 factors, six rebounds, seven assists and 6 turnovers in 29 minutes.
He thought he performed “pretty bad” and didn’t assume the remainder of the workforce seemed too polished both.
“Just keep playing together, keep talking to each other. I thought the first three quarters, we were all over the place. We didn’t know when to cut, how to cut,” Embiid stated. “We got a lot of new guys playing next to me. We haven’t played together. And then in the fourth quarter, we actually got better. Kelly, obviously we won the game because of him. But we just started playing so much better off of the double teams that they were sending. I think it’s just going to be repetition that every single game. It’s a learning experience. We gotta win but we’re also learning on the fly.”
Sixers coach Nick Nurse was most impressed by the reigning MVP’s efforts in protection.
“He scored some, I thought he passed the ball really well. But, again, when we started amping up our defense in the last six minutes, he was down there,” Nurse stated. “Some of those drives didn’t look as productive. So that to me is where I thought he really impacted. It was defensively late. But, yeah, he looked pretty good for not playing for a couple of months. That’s for sure.”
Embiid was tremendous candid about how deflating his damage was and admitted to having some darkish moments throughout restoration.
“For some reason, this one was disappointing, it was depressing,” Embiid advised NBC Sports. “It took me a while to get over it and I still haven’t gotten over it. Just got to take it day by day, look at the positive. I’m back, so hopefully things will get better and I’ll get back to myself.”
Family was his anchor via the 2 months of no NBA.
“Just looking at their faces, my wife and young (son) Arthur,” he stated. … And then clearly, watching the video games at night time, you get pissed off since you really feel like you might assist and you might do one thing.
“But it’s all about family. Basketball obviously means a lot, and I love it and I love to play. It’s the best thing for me. But family also comes first, and that’s the thing that got me through it.”
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