Joel Embiid Takes Over as Sixers Pick Up Another Win at Home vs. Hawks

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- After a disappointing showing against the NBA's top dogs, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Philadelphia 76ers returned to their home court in South Philly for their third matchup against the Atlanta Hawks this season.

The last time the Sixers played at home, they got off to a hot start, which then led to losing the lead before they formed a comeback to win the game in overtime. Although the loss of the lead wasn't as severe on Monday night against the Hawks, a similar scenario took place, which showed the Sixers losing a substantial lead just to end up winning the game by 17 points thanks to another dominant showing by their All-Star, Joel Embiid.

With Ben Simmons out for the time being, somebody on the Sixers has to step up on both sides of the ball. Being that Embiid is arguably the team's best player when everybody is healthy, the big man knows he has to put on a show consistently. On Saturday, he failed to do so on the road. On Monday, however, he made up for it.

During the first half of the matchup, Embiid led the Sixers in scoring with a game-high of 21 points as they possessed a 69-52 lead over Atlanta. Not only was Embiid on an offensive tear, but the Sixers were also holding Atlanta's Trae Young in check as the superstar guard only had ten points after wrapping up the second quarter.

Philadelphia's defensive dominance didn't keep up in the third quarter, though. After coming out flat to start the second half, the Sixers allowed Atlanta to go on a run by scoring 40 points while only putting up 22 of their own. By the time the third quarter wrapped up, the Sixers had trailed one point by way of a Trae Young buzzer-beater from long-range as he notched his 20th point of the night.

Naturally, the home crowd lost its patience as the Sixers generated boos from their fans once again. Fortunately for the Sixers, they tend to use that doubt from their spectators as motivation. They did just that on Monday as the Sixers quickly returned the favor to Atlanta by dropping nearly 40 points in the final period.

Twenty-two of the Sixers' 38 points in the fourth quarter came from Joel Embiid. His big second half helped Embiid exceed his career-high with 49 total points. While Embiid wouldn't consider Monday's game against the Hawks as his best ever, the big man once again proved he could stand out as the best player on the floor as long as he has the mindset to do so.

Thanks to his motivating performance, the Sixers picked up their 36th win of the year with a 129-112 win over Atlanta, helping themselves to remain in the race for one of the top-four spots in the Eastern Conference playoff bracket. The Sixers will return to the court in Cleveland on Wednesday for a matchup with the Cavaliers.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_