Prior to last night’s game, the Philadelphia 76ers were slated to host an epic showdown at home with Joel Embiid suiting up to match up against San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, who has been absolute nuts to begin the season. But fans looking forward to what could have been a defining matchup between the two were instead treated to a flop.
In the first half of their game against the Spurs, Embiid was puzzlingly ejected after expressing disapproval on an offensive foul called on him against the French Phenom. Jenna Schroder, the NBA referee in question, then subsequently owed up to her mistake, admitting that she pretty much overreacted to the situation — one that also stemmed from an earlier mishap involving Andre Drummond in the same game.
Embiid’s appearances have already been sparse this season, so it was wildly disappointing that the superstar saw his night prematurely end. Fortunately, the 76ers enjoyed suprisingly good shooting performances from nearly everyone, and under the leadership of Tyrese Maxey, the team staved off a flurry from San Antonio in the end to snag their 10th win this season.
Joel Embiid snaps historic streak as 76ers fall prey to iffy officiating
Philly’s win No. 10 is important as it brought them even closer to the playoffs-in range. Despite their weak start to the season, the East has been pretty stale for the most part, giving them more breathing room to stay in the race despite their meager win-loss card.
But for the record enthusiasts, last night’s game also signified something of note. Joel Embiid han an active streak of 187 games scoring double-digits, and as you might have guessed by now, that has now been muted by his ejection as he finished the contest with just nine points in 14 total minutes of gameplay.
The first half was a defensive battle against the 76ers and the Spurs, which were spearheaded by Wembanyama, who already had seven blocks by then. After Embiid got booted out, Philly went small and pesky in the second half, throwing off San Antonio en route to an impressive victory against one of the league’s most pleasantly surprising teams this season.
Nevertheless, Embiid w=copuld nprobably care less about such relatively obscure streak, but it’s worth noting that the 76ers once again found themselves on the receiving end of poor treatment from the league. At this point, when does it stop?
Hopefully, the Philadelphia 76ers can use this as fuel and finally mount a string of wins to close the gap on their record to remind everyone of what they are capable of.