Joel Embiid was feeling himself after a dominant performance, leading the Philadelphia 76ers past the Boston Celtics 118-115.
MORE: Four takeaways from the Philadelphia 76ers' impressive win over the Boston Celtics
Embiid poured in 37 points, a career-high 22 rebounds, going 20-of-21 at the free throw line and with plenty of pre-game talk surrounding the matchup with Al Horford, Embiid was a man on a mission, sending a message ahead of the playoffs.
"First of all, I'm glad we got the win," Embiid told ESPN. "I've been hearing these guys can guard me better than anyone else. I just had to come out and show that I'm the most unstoppable player in the league."
"I'm the most unstoppable player in the league." – @JoelEmbiid pic.twitter.com/avkcdoEpcA
— ESPN (@espn) March 21, 2019
A scuffle with Celtics guard Marcus Smart early in the second half seemed to ignite Embiid, who poured in 15 of his 37 points in the third quarter, helping the 76ers erase a 69-58 half-time deficit to take control on their home floor.
It was their first win against the Celtics this season, who had won the previous three meetings, tightening their grip on the third seed in the Eastern Conference.
With the win, the 76ers improve to 47-25, while the Celtics dropped to 43-29.
