The Philadelphia 76ers are heading to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Philly went into Brooklyn for Game 4 of their series against the Nets on Saturday afternoon, and despite the fact that Joel Embiid did not play in the game due to a knee sprain, the Sixers picked up a 96-88 win to complete a sweep and set up a showdown with either the Boston Celtics or the Atlanta Hawks.
Doing it without Embiid was particularly impressive, as Philadelphia has struggled for years to remain afloat with their MVP center sidelined. Still, while the Sixers managed to pick up a win without him, Tobias Harris made clear after the game that he would strongly prefer that the big fella gets healthy sooner rather than later, as he was asked by TNT’s Allie LaForce what his message is for Embiid as he watched the game from home. Harris, without missing a beat, said “hurry up and get your ass back out here.”
“Hurry up and get your a*s back out here.”
Tobias Harris’ message to Joel Embiid after the Sixers complete the sweep of the Nets
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— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) April 22, 2023
Harris came up big in Embiid’s absence, as he led the 76ers with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Philly managed to get double-digit scoring from four other players: James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, De’Anthony Melton, and Embiid’s replacement, Paul Reed, who led the team with 15 rebounds in 32 minutes of work.