After he made his debut last season for the Philadelphia 76ers, Joel Embiid has established himself as one of the fast-rising big men in the league today. He has excelled not just on the offensive end, but also on defense, being the solid rim protector that he is.
That facet of his game was on full display Monday, when he and the Sixers faced off against the Utah Jazz. As Donovan Mitchell drove to the basket, the 7-foot Cameroonian center swatted his shot, before staring him down and having a few words to say to the Jazz rookie.
Joel Embiid you are a treasure. 😂 pic.twitter.com/DScwsCcD7K
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 21, 2017
That resulted to the Donovan Mitchell retaliating with a shove to Joel Embiid, prompting the official to call a technical foul on him. Instead of going after Mitchell though, Embiid opted to just stand up and fire up the home crowd. However, the 23-year-old Kansas product admitted after the game that he flopped after receiving a “fake shove” from Mitchell.
Embiid on the Donovan Mitchell technical:
"I blocked his shot and I said something to him, and then he just got up and kind of fake shoved me and I flopped. Then he got a technical for it."— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) November 21, 2017
The Sixers won on the night in blowout fashion, 106-87, as Joel Embiid finished with a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds to go along with three assists and two blocks. More importantly, they improved their record to 9-7 for the season.
The Jazz on the other hand, fell to 7-11 following the loss. Donovan Mitchell to his credit, still recorded a solid stat line of 17 points, four rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one block, but his efforts were not enough to give his team the win on the night.
Follow Us
Subscribe