Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid put together a tour de force performance in Game 3 against the Washington Wizards, pouring in 36 points on 14-of-18 shooting in a 132-103 beatdown. The Sixers center added eight rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block in a game that was never all that competitive.
In addition to his dominant stat line, Embiid also put on a master class in trolling. The center loves playing the villain for the road crowd:
#Sixers center Joel Embiid: 'I love playing on the road. They started booing because I missed another dunk. I made one, so I went over to (the #Wizards' fans and cupped my ear). I wanted them to boo. ⌠It felt like we had more (#Sixers' fans).'
â Tom Moore (@TomMoorePhilly) May 30, 2021
One of Embiid's few misses on the day was a monster dunk attempt late in the first half. He heard it from Wizards fans, only to respond moments later with a successful slam. Then came the epic trolling:
Article Continues BelowJoel Embiid has absolutely roasted the Wizards all series as the Sixers have jumped out to a 3-0 advantage. He has certainly had a lot of fun in the process doing it. During Game 2, he broke out a D-Generation X celebration, which drew support from Triple H and Shawn Michaels.
For the series, Embiid is averaging 29.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists in just 28.0 minutes per game. He's shooting a ridiculous 67.4% from the field and 54.5% from 3-point range. The Wizards have had no answer for the MVP candidate, with Daniel Gafford being on the wrong end of multiple Embiid pump fakes in Game 3.
The only thing that has âstoppedâ Embiid in this series is foul trouble. The big man got into foul trouble in Game 1, which helped the Wizards stick around until the end. He had no such issues in Games 2 and 3, though, and the results were predictable.
Joel Embiid and the Sixers will go for the sweep on Monday night. There's little reason to expect Philly to not take care of business, but perhaps Embiid will be a gentleman about it.