Joel Embiid's Performance Praised After Shorthanded 76ers' Loss to Timberwolves

Despite missing James Harden, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris because of injury, the Philadelphia 76ers nearly beat the Minnesota Timberwolves before falling at home, 112-109 on Saturday.

The 76ers were in this one because of center Joel Embiid, who continues his torrid pace. Last year's NBA MVP runner-up collected 32 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three steals. He notably went 18-of-20 from the free-throw line as well.

Minnesota led this game by as many as 20 points and held a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter, but Embiid and Shake Milton (27 points on the night) combined to score the next 12 for Philly to cut the lead to 105-102. The last bucket in that run consisted of an impeccable Embiidd effort on both ends.

Embiid's performance was nothing short of exceptional on a night where he appeared to have suffered a significant injury involving teammate Georges Niang.

But he stayed in the game to nearly will Philly to the win.

After the 12-0 run, the Timberwolves scored the next five before the 76ers rolled off a 7-0 run to slash the deficit to 110-109. However, Minnesota held on after the 76ers came up empty on their next two possessions.

Despite the loss, Embiid was the best player on the floor, which has been the case for a while now.

Twitter praised Embiid after another dominant performance.

Philadelphia will return to the court Tuesday at home against the Brooklyn Nets.