Joel Embiid’s 30 points lead Philadelphia 76ers in 116-96 win over Memphis Grizzlies

The Philadelphia 76ers blew out the Memphis Grizzlies 116-96 and won their fourth consecutive game. 

Philadelphia improved to 43-35 and is now 0.5 games behind the Miami Heat for the 7th seed and one game back from the Indiana Pacers for 6th place.

The Grizzlies only had 8 available players tonight as Santi Aldama (foot), Desmond Bane (lumbar), Jaren Jackson Jr. (quad), Luke Kennard (knee), John Konchar (plantar), Jake LaRavia (ankle), Ja Morant (shoulder), Derrick Rose (groin), Marcus Smart (finger), Lamar Stevens (groin), Yuta Watanabe (personal), Vince Williams Jr. (patellar), and Ziaire Williams (back) were out.

Meanwhile, Robert Covington (knee), Tobias Harris (knee), and De’Anthony Melton (back) were sidelined for the 76ers.

Joel Embiid headlines 76ers’ win

Joel Embiid’s 30 points and 12 rebounds on 9-13 shooting from the field and 10-13 foul shooting in just 22 minutes of play led the way for the 76ers. Embiid only had to play through three quarters due to the 76ers building and sustaining a 20-point lead, which is something that the 76ers so desperately missed for months.

With his 28th point tonight, @JoelEmbiid now has 12,000 for his career. He is the 7th player in @sixers franchise history to reach the mark. The only players with more points than Embiid are:

Greer@alleniverson
Schayes@JuliusErving
Barkley
Cunningham

h/t @bball_ref

— Sixers Stats (@SixersStats) April 7, 2024

In his third game back, Embiid appeared a bit sharper off the point-of-attack with his footwork showing progress and his jumper looking solid. Embiid imposed his dominance on rookie Trey Jemison as the superstar center went right at him off the dribble, hitting a variety of post-up jumpers and routinely drawing contact doing so. Embiid continued to have success from the perimeter as well, raining in a series of spot-up jumpers from different areas of the floor. 

However, a notable indicator that Embiid is still a ways away from returning to peak form was that he turned the ball over eight times, often off the dribble in an attempt to split defenders and finish at the rim. 

Still, Embiid displayed his highly-missed impact on the defensive end as well with elite isolation defense on Trey Jemison (5 points on 2-6 field shooting). Jemison settled for pull-up jumpers around the baseline and Embiid, using his physical tools, suffocatingly contested those shots. Embiid’s interior presence was felt in other ways as his drop coverage and switching against pick-and-rolls proved effective against a disjointed Grizzlies team. 

Nick Nurse interestingly slotted Paul Reed (6 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals) next to Joel Embiid to close the first half due to the Grizzlies getting inside the paint rather easily in a variety of ways and it did the trick as Philadelphia’s front-court strung together stops and got going in transition, which is how the 76ers’ lead ballooned. 

Joel Embiid block number 2!

Can't believe you made that entire awful breakdown just to lose LOL https://t.co/NPNNl4fSye pic.twitter.com/TrOjagVR8J

— J🐐 (@SixersJustin) April 7, 2024

Other 76ers contributors

Kelly Oubre Jr. was Philadelphia’s second-leading scorer with 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists with his performance being headlined by his aggressiveness in early offense where he plowed through defenders and finished at the rim along with quality defense on G.G. Jackson II (6-16 shooting from the field). 

Jeff Dowtin Jr. wasn’t far behind with 11 points and 5 rebounds on 4-5 shooting from the field in an effort in which he displayed his abilities as a driver and perimeter shooter. 

Kenyon Martin contributed 10 points and 6 rebounds, but his impact truly showed at the defensive end with a series of hustle plays as a help defender and shot-blocker.

Nico Batum chipped in 9 points with his spot-up shooting (3-5 from three) being vital in the 3rd quarter where the 76ers got out in transition and repeatedly found Batum trailing into the weak side.

Tyrese Maxey had an off night of 7 points and 5 assists on 2-6 shooting from the field in a game where Maxey couldn’t quite find his rhythm as he misfired on long threes and lacked aggressiveness as a slasher.

Tyrese Maxey DRILLS the middy 🎯pic.twitter.com/e1p9HWtbs2

— Sixers Nation (@SixersNationCP) April 7, 2024

Youthful Grizzlies impress against 76ers

Being so short-handed, the Grizzlies had a chance to see what they have in this pool of young players and Scotty Pippen Jr, who resembled his father tonight, surely made Memphis take notes. Pippen Jr. led the Grizzlies in scoring with 24 points and 5 assists on 9-16 shooting. Pippen Jr. nicely utilized screens to create for himself within the arc and made quality weak-side reads to spot-up shooters.

G.G. Jackson Jr. II continued to impress with a respectable 17 points and 6 rebounds as his physical style of play off the dribble and screens gave the 76ers’ defense some problems. Jackson Jr.’s physicality overwhelmed Philadelphia’s interior and he was able to score inside the paint.

The 76ers will wrap up their three-game road trip tomorrow against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs at 7:00 p.m. EST on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

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