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Cameroon-born Joel Embiid drops career-high 59 points to set record as 76ers beat Jazz.
Cameroon professional basketball star Joel Embiid was dominant as the Philadelphia 76ers beat Utah Jazz 105-98 in the early hours of Sunday, November 14, 2022.
After missing several weeks of action, Embiid returned to action when for the 76ers as they beat the Atlanta Hawks 121-109 at the Wells Fargo Center.
Embiid had 42 points and 10 rebounds in his comeback against the Hawks. On the second night of a back-to-back, Embiddi produced the best performance of his career so far.
He produced 59 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, and seven blocks to guide the 76ers to victory against the high-flying Jazz.
59 points is a career-high for Embiid as he joins Wilt Chamberlain and Allen Iverson as the only players to have crossed the 55-point threshold while playing for the 76ers.
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Embiid on career night as 76ers beat Jazz
Embiid was dominant when it mattered producing 26 out of his 59 points in the fourth quarter.
Playing just 36 minutes, Embiid scored more than half of the points of the team as the offense ran through him by James Harden still being sidelined with injury.
Speaking after the game, Embiid explained that his career-high performance was due to the coordination of the team against their opponents.
He said, "This is not about me. We did it as a team. Obviously, the coaches put me in those positions and my teammates fed me the ball.
“My teammates knew who had the hot hand and they just had to feed me.
"I thought we had great spacing around everything we were doing. Like I said, all the credit goes to my teammates."
Head coach Doc Rivers was under intense pressure after a slow start but with back-to-back wins propelled by Embiid could not but show admiration for the franchise player.
He said, "I've never seen a more dominating performance when you combine offense and defense."
Embiid follows the footsteps of basketball greats Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant by dropping a combined 100 points plus on back-to-back nights.
Two victories lift the 76ers into the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference after their early season struggles.
Embiid returns to action with the 76ers when they welcome Eastern Conference rivals the Milwaukee Bucks led by Greek star of Nigerian descent Giannis Antetokoumpo.
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