Joel Embiid gets real on botching open shot in crunch-time loss to Raptors
Today at 11:22 PM
The Philadelphia 76ers lost to the Toronto Raptors in their latest failure to make up progress in the standings. They dropped their fourth straight game by a final score of 106-103. Joel Embiid played well but he cost the Sixers a chance to win, adding to the misery of their season.
Down by two points in the final 15 seconds, Embiid caught a pass from Maxey at the top of the key. There was no defender within 10 feet of him. He chose to drive into the paint and lost the ball. The Raptors tacked on another point after an intentional foul and the Sixers’ final play came up empty.
Embiid knew right away that he should have just taken the open look.
"Tough one. Wide open, gotta shoot that one," Embiid told reporters. "With how the game was going, I had [the] elbow one and then down two, I thought I could just step in and shoot the mid-range. Looking back at it, [I] probably should have taken the wide-open shot and make it. Tough one. Yeah, just take the easy ones and live with it.”
Joel Embiid ruins crunch-time shot attempt in 76ers’ loss to Raptors
The 76ers wouldn't have been in the game without Embiid dominating the way he did. Yet he also ruined their chance to go ahead in the final minute with a bafflingly bad decision. A twist of fate like this is as cruel as it gets.
Embiid missed his final three shot attempts of the game, including a wonky, over-the-shoulder layup attempt and an 18-foot attempt from the left elbow. He ended the game with a team-high 27 points on 8-19 field-goal shooting to go along with 12 rebounds and four assists. Tyrese Maxey played a poor game and Paul George wasn't spectacular, either. The Sixers are now 13 games below a .500 record.
The 76ers will play the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center in their final game before the All-Star break. Embiid probably won't play since it’s the second game of a back-to-back.
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