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Tim BontempsESPN
After Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid exhausted a way to the free throw line in a 117-109 victory over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night, Celtics guard Marcus Smart expressed his displeasure over the way the Celtics match was presented.
Embiid made more free throws than the Celtics as a team and 17-out-21 from the line compared to 13-of-20 for Boston. The Sixers finish 36-of-45 as a team.
“Can’t beat it,” Smart said. “Hard to win like that.”
It’s hard to win, when Embiid – who finished with 42 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals – as he played against Boston while continuing to run his business to run the league. MVP award through the first month of the season.
Regardless of which defender was thrown at him – whether Tristan Thompson, who started, or Daniel Theis, who closed – Embiid had his sense of scoring double figures in each of the first three quarters and then scoring six points in the final seven minutes, along with making a key steal, to put the Celtics away.
However, part of the series included that Embiid would drive to the dirty line three times – Smart thought he did in part by beautifying contact.
“It’s hard,” Smart said. “It’s hard. Especially when we’m in the hands a lot of times, and he swings and gets the call, and then on the other hand, our guys attacked the edge and got a lot of contact, and we just do not get the whistle. It’s hard to play like that, it’s hard.
“If the roles were reversed, I would do it every time. I mean, I would also go on if I went to the release line every time I threw my arms up or every time I was touched. I mean, it’s hard not to get in a rhythm that way if you shoot 21 free throws alone and allow them to hack on the other side.
“It’s hard, but we struggled. The team did a good job. We were just there to give ourselves a win and try to give it back on Friday.”
Embiid was briefed during his interview after the game of Smart’s comments. Of course, the big man had some thoughts on how Smart sees the game playing out, pointing out that Smart is quite well known for selling calls to officials.
“Marcus Smart just told me I’m complaining a lot?” Embiid said. “Come on. I’m sure he knows himself, and he also knows his game, he does a lot of it. And I do not think I know it. I mean if you watch basketball and if you are a student of the game and if you really pay attention during the game, we all see.Every mistake, I’m committed.They probably do not call everyone, like the previous one.There were three minutes left, I went up, and it was a mistake, and they knew it, but they did not mention it, so there are many that they do not mention, and there are many that they mention because you have to.
“The game is physical. Other teams tend to be extra physical against me. And I think I’m just smarter than everyone. I just use it. I just use how they guard me. You can call me that, I do not know , basketball IQ, like if you put your hand up there, I’ll take advantage of it and get to the free throw line, because I know I’m an excellent free throw shooter and this is a better chance for me to join the team. to help win in such situations. ‘
What was clear on Wednesday was that, even if one or two erroneous calls could be argued, Embiid was the dominant figure in the game. With the exception of Jayson Tatum, the Celtics finished four players with at least 19 points: Jaylen Brown (26), Smart (25), Theis (23) and Kemba Walker (19 in just 22 minutes).
But despite the offensive output, the Celtics could do nothing with Embiid all night. He used his size advantage to see the basket clean after the other.
Asked about Embiid’s repeated attempts at the charity line, Celtics coach Brad Stevens said his team should work harder to prevent him from going there.
“We have to do our best to play without getting in the way,” Stevens said. ‘I’ll go back and look at each one and find out what we can do better. He will score some, but 42 is too many. It will be difficult to win a match if the best player in the other team scores 42 points.
“You have to go back to how we can be better. He not only scored those points, but also handled the doubles pretty well, which led to three points. He had a big impact on the game tonight, and he was great. ‘
Embiid was home on Wednesday for the second time in eight days at 40 points against an oriental conference. He scored 45 points, including 35 points in the second half and overtime, Jan. 12 against the Miami Heat.
The win improved Philadelphia to 10-2 when Embiid played this season. Coach Doc Rivers and Embiid’s teammates then sang his praises.
‘It’s not a species, it’s definitely an MVP caliber [play], “said Tobias Harris, who had 22 points.” Night after night he controls the game, he controls the paint.
“[He’s] for sure to appoint an MVP year, and one of the biggest things is that we keep it game after game, and that we will progress throughout this year, even ourselves. But I’m glad for him, because that’s what he put in, and if you win, or if a team is successful, you definitely get that kind of fame. ‘