The Miami Heat had no response for Philadelphia 76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid last night, as the masked & goggled big man led his Sixers to a 128-108 Game 3 victory at the American Airlines Arena.
Heat forward Justise Winslow even tried stomping on said goggles during the second quarter in an effort to slow Embiid down, but to no avail.
After the game, Embiid spoke about the moment and vowed to be a "nightmare" for the Heat the rest of the way.
“Justise stepped on it and tried to break it with his hands,” Embiid said. “But little do they know is that I have about 50 of them. So it’s going to take much more than that to get me out of the series.”
"I’m going to be a nightmare for them, too.”
Embiid finished with a game-high 23 points, seven rebounds and three blocks despite any discomfort he may have been experiencing due to his protective mask. He noted that the mask was difficult to get used to, and even tried to throw it away at one point during the game, but it didn't impact his ability to dominant Game 3.
“It was difficult,” Embiid said of the mask, per NBC Sports. “But to me it wasn’t really about getting used to it because at the end of the day, no matter how much it bothers me, I’ve still got to be a basketball player. If the shots aren’t falling and it gets foggy or I can’t see, there’s a lot of different stuff I can do, especially defensively because I feel like I’m the best defensive player in the league.”
The Sixers will look to take a commanding 3-1 series lead tomorrow afternoon. Game 4, airing on TNT, is scheduled to tipoff at 2:30pm ET.