76ers’ Joel Embiid Issues Heavy Praise to Kawhi Leonard, Clippers

The Philadelphia 76ers surely respected their opponent on Friday night. After winning six-straight matchups at home, mostly against short-staffed teams or rebuilding rosters, the Sixers knew they couldn’t take the Los Angeles Clippers lightly on Friday.

The Clippers were a team that could help keep the Sixers honest on Friday. Therefore, Philadelphia had something to prove. At first, the matchup looked lopsided in favor of the Clippers. As the Sixers struggled on both ends, the Clippers had a 20-point lead during the first half.

Fortunately for the Sixers, they managed to knock the deficit down to 12 points before halftime. Then in the second half, the tables turned.

Sixers center Joel Embiid was a bright spot for Philadelphia all game. After putting up 23 points of his own in the first 19 minutes, the big man received some help from his teammates in the final two quarters. Embiid finished the matchup with a game-high of 44 points. Following the game, the Sixers center praised the talented Clippers team and singled out one of their All-Stars.

“That’s a good team right there,” said Embiid. “They got all the talent in the world from starting five to guys coming off the bench. Probably the favorites to come out of the West based on what they have, and Kawhi, I’m sure he’s still on a minutes restriction, but he’s been doing it for so many years. When you got a guy like that, I mean, having played against him in the playoffs, he’s a big time, especially in the playoffs. He just turns into freaking Michael Jordan. So when you got a guy like that, you got a good chance.”

The Sixers outscored the Clippers 68-51 in the second half. While Leonard had a solid night, scoring 28 points on highly-efficient shooting, Philadelphia took down the Clippers with a 119-114 victory in comeback fashion.

“For us to come back down 20 or whatever that was, it was big time for us,” Embiid added. “That just shows that we stayed together, we trust each other, and we know what we have to do. We started off the game soft, especially defensively, and as soon as we turn it up, it changed the whole game.”

With Friday’s win, the Sixers improved to 19-12 on the year as they collected their seventh-straight victory. As the 76ers’ biggest win streak of the season remains alive, they’ll improve to eight in a row as they are set to face the New York Knicks on Christmas Day.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.