Joel Embiid Scores Season-High 35 Points In Loss To Grizzlies

Joel Embiid enjoyed his best game of the season so far on Wednesday, scoring 35 points in the Sixers loss to Memphis. After the defeat, Embiid said his side ‘needs to be better’. 

Sixers Need To Improve

The Sixers continued their miserable start to the season on Wednesday, as a loss to the Grizzlies made it five consecutive losses for Philadelphia.

While the Sixers were again dreadful, Joel Embiid finally enjoyed some joy on the court after what has been a tough start to the year for the former MVP.

Embiid dropped 35 on the Grizzlies in the defeat, scoring 14 free throws and shooting 48% from the field with 11 rebounds, but he wasn’t pleased at all following his team’s latest defeat.

“It’s kind of annoying having to deal with the same things over and over and over,” Embiid said. “It’s been like that my whole career. All I try to do is focus on basketball and trying to make the best living for my family, on and off the court.

“But it’s unbelievable. It just feels like negativity keeps following us, which I don’t understand why. But it’s a shame, and it doesn’t change the fact that we’ve still all got to be better.”

It was reported in the week that the Sixers had a team meeting due to the recent form, with Embiid actually called out by Tyrese Maxey for his poor time keeping off the court.

Embiid is not happy about details of Sixers team meeting being leaked 😬

He says they “talked about a lot of things” and meeting lasted “probably 30 seconds” pic.twitter.com/CwsAVbUzuL

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 21, 2024

Maxey made his return for Philadelphia against the Grizzlies, after missing the last six games with a hamstring strain. The 24-year-old scored just 8 points on Wednesday, but he was only involved for 20 minutes as the guard slowly makes his return from injury.

In Maxey’s absence, Sixers rookie Jared McCain has stepped up and he currently leads the NBA Rookie Of The Season race with 15.6 points per game.

Jared McCain in the loss:

20 PTS
5 AST
3 3P

His sixth 20-point game this season — the only rookie with more than two. pic.twitter.com/Pctcv2XiSq

— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 21, 2024

Paul George hyperextended his knee for a second time this year on Wednesday and his injury is just the latest setback in a difficult time for Philly.

The Sixers are in NBA Cup action on Friday night as they face the Nets but having already lost their first two in the competition, Philadelphia are already all but confirmed to be out of the running.