Joel Embiid reflects on the game-saving block by Giannis Antetokounmpo: "I probably should’ve gone up harder"
Joel Embiid had a monster game against the Milwaukee Bucks but it wasn't enough to secure a win
© Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
The Philadelphia 76ers lost to the Milwaukee Bucks at home in a close game that ended with a massive block from Giannis Antetokounmpo on Joel Embiid that sealed the game.
Another tough loss for the Sixers
After a tough loss to the Phoenix Suns the other day, the Sixers were looking to bounce back with a win at home against a surging Bucks squad that is playing great basketball as of late. It was an exciting game from start to finish, but unfortunately for the home crowd, the Sixers lost the game 118-116 even though they had a great last shot at the basket from Embiid that Giannis blocked and therefore won the game for the Bucks.
Joel Embiid and James Harden led the way for the Sixers combining for 61 points, 19 rebounds, and 16 assists, but Giannis was the absolute hero of this game with 40 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 blocks. After the game, Joel Embiid reflected on the last shot, saying he should have gone harder for the layup.
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"I thought it was close, I probably should’ve gone up harder, but in that situation, I didn’t know how much time was left, so I was just trying to get the ball up quickly, I thought it was close, and I didn’t know whether it was a goaltend or not."
The Sixers lost the last two games to teams that are the leading championship contenders in their respective conferences, which is a good showcase of what they will have to go through on their way to a championship. Embiid is aware of how important the last two games were for the team to understand better what they can expect in the playoffs.
"Execution, we gotta do a better job, against Phoenix and again tonight we had a lead just like against Phoenix, it’s a game of runs, every team is going to make their runs so we just gotta stay calm and know what we need to do, and last two games have really shown why those two teams have went to the finals."
The Sixers were close to winning both of these games, which is an indicator that they can definitely match up with the best teams in the league. Embiid thinks the remainder of the season will help them polish out some things from a team perspective before the playoffs start.
The Sixers need to get better
"It’s a loss, you know we should’ve won both games, especially tonight a couple mistakes, we know what we got to do, we just gotta do better every single night and try to build every single night."
The Sixers are currently sitting at the 4th spot in the eastern conference standings and have 7 games left in the regular season. They can easily clinch one of the top three positions if they win most of their games in the regular season. Most importantly, they can use the rest of the games to work on some of the things that the coaching staff believes need to be improved, which can potentially help them have better chances when playing the best teams in the playoffs.
