JOEL ANSWERS THE CALL
Embiid, Sixers dial up winner in Game 2
PHILADELPHIA – Joel Embiid didn’t need a cellphone to tell him that he dominated the Nets.
The hulking Sixers center, playing on a minutes restriction because of a sore knee, pummeled the Nets’ frontcourt in Monday’s Game 2 victory, 145-123. He was too big, too powerful and almost single-handedly turned a close game into a Philly celebration.
Up by only one at the break, Embiid dropped 11 points in the opening 3:41 of the second half as the Sixers’ advantage expanded to 20. The Nets, who allowed (shield your eyes, children) 51 points in the third quarter, now head back to Brooklyn with an even series and lost momentum.
“It’s 1-1. We go back to Brooklyn,” Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said. “If you would’ve told us before we’re splitting here in Philly, I think we’d be happy. But I’m not pleased with the way we presented ourselves tonight. We were below average, quite honestly.”
The Nets’ big ques- tion: How can they compensate for their size disadvantage? Center Jarrett Allen was clearly outmatched by Embiid and — with backup center Ed Davis limited by foul trouble — the Nets were punished in the paint. That opened up the floor for Philly’s shooters, whether it was JJ Redick (17 points) or Mike Scott (15) or Tobias Harris (19). It called into question the midseason move of waiving Kenneth Faried, who would certainly have had a role in this series if he wasn’t playing in Houston.
Not equipping his roster with a physical center was GM Sean Marks’ great mistake. On Monday, the Nets were outrebounded, 49-32, and outscored in the paint, 62-48.
“I think most of it is Joel Embiid, honestly,” Atkinson said about Allen’s struggles in this series. “I think that’s the most difficult matchup in the league, quite honestly. So understanding that, understanding that we have to do a better job of helping him and understanding that he has to raise his level. This is his first time, first playoffs, 21-year-old center. I know he can play better. I expect him to play better.”
Embiid is a lightning rod and a consistent source of controversy, most recently because he was caught glancing at a teammate’s cellphone while on the bench in Game 1. He also was lucky not to get ejected Monday after landing a vicious elbow. Late in the first half, Embiid spun to the basket with his arms raised and connected on the chin of Allen, whose head – and impressive afro – jerked backwards and fell to the court. The refs determined it was a Flagrant 1 after a video review, but it easily could’ve been a Flagrant 2 with an automatic ejection.
That might’ve changed the course of the game. Despite being benched for all but 30 seconds of the fourth quarter, Embiid managed 23 points and 10 rebounds in 21 minutes. The Nets had no answer. The second half was a drubbing. The Nets lost the third quarter, 51-23, and trailed by as many as 32 in the fourth.
“They picked up their intensity defensively. I thought they did a fantastic job. They got into us. I would classify it as extreme physicality. (They) denied us, held us, pushed us. I thought we did a good job of kind of holding the fort in the first half because that was their mentality. We responded okay. Third quarter—we didn’t respond. That was really the story of the game, that third quarter.
Atkinson knew that the Sixers, with their backs against the wall and preemptive calls for Brett Brown’s job, were going to start the game on an energy surge. Within five minutes, the crowd was booming with an eight-point lead and Ben Simmons – who had criticized Sixers fans after they booed in Game 1 – was prompting them with hand gestures.
Early in the second quarter, the lead hit 13.
“We expect a haymaker. We know it’s coming,” Atkinson said pregame. “They’re too good, they’re too talented, they’re too well coached. It’s coming. It’s how are we going to react to that?
“For us, it’s a very important game for us to get momentum. You don’t want them to stop our momentum.”
Consider the momentum reversed. The Nets hung around in the first half because of their exquisite jump-shooting, knocking down 10 3-pointers to cut the deficit to 1 at the break. Their defensive gameplan, as employed with positive gains in Game 1, was to sag off Simmons and Embiid and dare them to shoot from long range.
But Simmons and Embiid countered by playing to their strengths – by not taking the bait for long-range shots and driving to the rim.