At this point in his career, Joel Embiid is a walking, trash talking, bucket getting injury.
On this night, Saturday in Boston, a Game 7, Embiid wasn’t just injury, singular. He was injuries, plural.
And somehow, in the end, it didn’t matter.
Embiid had lost his three prior Game 7s in his career.
On this night, the 76ers prevailed. They sent their nemesis home. They’ll play the New York Knicks in an Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Embiid’s night was epic, beyond just the stats, which were impressive in their own right.
He finished with 34 points in 39 minutes. He made 12-of-26 shots from the floor.
Embiid grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out six assists — four of the dimes coming by midway through the first quarter as Philly ran everything through its generational center.
But those injuries made it even more of a remarkable story.
Midway through the third quarter, Embiid exited. He put a wrap on his midsection. Trainers were stretching out both his arm and his leg at the same time, as if to free up something that was paining him in his abdomen.
He got his appendix taken out weeks ago, so it wasn’t that, but it felt like it could’ve been something in the aftermath of that.
Embiid returned, and he hit his biggest shot most of the way through the fourth quarter. Boston had pulled within one, and then Embiid stepped into a 3 from the top of the arc. Money, and a couple of hand motions to calm the crowd down.
A few minutes later, Tyrese Maxey crashed into Embiid’s knee, friendly fire but clear pain.
That didn’t stop Embiid from getting up and down the floor a few times and making a full-effort dive for a loose ball.
On this night, Embiid simply wasn’t going to let the narratives win. He wasn’t going to let the injuries win.
The only thing that was going to win on this night was Embiid himself, and his 76ers.