By Mike Sielski, The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS) PARIS — In the wake of the best night of his basketball life, Joel Embiid was walking tall through an exit area of Bercy Arena on Thursday, slapping hands with Anthony Edwards, toweling off his sweat-sopped face, as at ease as he ever gets or has ever been. The 7 minutes and 11 seconds of game time that changed everything for him in these Olympics, that maybe could be the beginning of a new and better phase of his career with the 76ers, had passed. The sight of Embiid so buoyant brought to mind dozens of regular-season NBA games, when he’d been marvelous and the Sixers had won and his world would be perfect until the postseason began.
Except this 95-91 semifinal victory over Serbia had been as important, as much of a gut-tester, as any playoff game that any member of Team USA had experienced, and Embiid had handled himself about as well as anyone not named Steph Curry. Nineteen points, four rebounds, a big blocked shot, and that 7:11 fourth-quarter stretch when he, Curry, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant carried the Americans to complete a 17-point comeback. Embiid, for his part, downplayed the comparison between a late-series playoff game and this win-or-settle-for-bronze thrill ride that was shaping up to be one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history.
“Two totally separate things,” he said. “You’re playing with some of the best players who have ever played the game tonight with Steph, LeBron, KD. Everybody has had.