Joel Embiid didn’t get to posterize the Boston Celtics on Friday night during a 111-99 home win for the Philadelphia 76ers.
What would have been the dunk of the year on second-year Celtic Aaron Nesmith was spoiled by a violent meeting between the ball and the rim.
But Twitter still couldn’t believe what they saw out of a man standing seven-feet-tall and 280 lbs taking the ball the entirety of the floor and almost making an NFT to put the cherry on top of an emphatic beatdown the Cs made look closer than it appeared in the final moments.
The Houdini collected some of the most dramatic reactions from the NBA world:
Aaron Nesmith just had a conversation with God. pic.twitter.com/Sw7JYyfI5Q
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) January 15, 2022
Joel Embiid just tried to end Aaron Nesmith’s life on that dunk, and nearly took himself out in the process. Scary looking play, though he appears to be fine.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) January 15, 2022
That missed dunk from Joel Embiid should be classified as attempted murder 👀
— Pick Swap Media (@PickSwapMedia) January 15, 2022
Joel Embiid just tried to kill a man
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) January 15, 2022
It was a true banner night for Joel Embiid, who collected 25 points, 13 points, and six assists in just 32 minutes. The uncompetitive nature of this game not only made me look like a fool for backing the Cs spread, but also limited what the 2021 All-NBA Second Teamer was able to accomplish from a pure statistical perspective.
Of course, if Boston Celtics fans were to look at the stats from this one, they’d feel pretty squeamish. The Cs more than doubled Philly’s turnovers (20-9) and lost by double digits even though they outshot the Sixers from the floor, including the 3-point line.
As yet another Celtics loss knocks them out of an NBA Play-in spot with a 21-22 record, at least Joel Embiid didn’t put the most brutal of cherries on top of it.