Joel Embiid punished Howard for camping in the paint with a beautiful three-pointer.
That three gave Embiid his 28th point of the game!
It also helped the Philadelphia 76ers build a 13-point lead.
At this point, only one minute remained. It would not be easy for the Grizzlies to erase a 13-point deficit in one minute.
Logically, Embiid should have been especially happy right now.
He had not forgotten the humiliation of trying and failing to fight Link last time, only to be fined and suspended by the league instead.
With this game today, Embiid had finally gotten his revenge.
Yet, faced with his 28th personal point and a 13-point lead, Embiid simply could not bring himself to feel happy.
Because the Grizzlies had not played Link at all today! The other starters had only played a little over twenty minutes as well.
This win did not count as a real victory in any meaningful sense.
Today was April 13, the final day of the 2019-20 regular season.
Once this game was over, the intense playoffs would begin.
That was why Joerger had barely played his starters today. He went all-in on load management, preparing for the upcoming playoffs.
As a result, Embiid, who was about to win the game, did not think there was anything to celebrate.
What was there to celebrate about beating a Grizzlies team that had not gone all out?
Besides, the 76ers' complete collapse this season had left Embiid in no mood to be happy.
Last season, the 76ers had at least won 51 games and finished third in the East.
After strengthening the roster last summer, everyone had favored the 76ers to dominate the East after Leonard's departure. People had expected the 76ers to win 60 games this year!
And what happened? The 76ers