Joel Embiid stops in middle of postgame press conference to admire Kawhi Leonard's monster dunk

Jordan Greer

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Joel Embiid stops in middle of postgame press conference to admire Kawhi Leonard's monster dunk image

Joel Embiid had a brutal night, but at least Kawhi Leonard was there to cheer him up.

In the 76ers' Game 4 loss to the Hawks on Monday, which evened the Eastern Conference semifinal series at two games apiece, Embiid totaled 17 points, 21 rebounds and four assists, but he shot just 4 of 20 from the field, including 0 of 12 in the second half. Yes, the MVP runner-up missed every shot he took over the final two periods — not ideal if you're a Sixers fan.

MORE: NBA Twitter reacts to Leonard dunking on Favors

Embiid's biggest miss came in the closing seconds when he rolled to the basket and botched a layup that would have given Philadelphia the lead. The four-time All-Star has been playing with a torn meniscus in his right knee, and he admitted that the injury limited his explosiveness.

"Great look, great look. I just didn't have the lift," Embiid said during his postgame media availability. "Thought I got fouled, too. But usually I would go up, especially for a bucket like that, try to dunk it, or try to get fouled and get an and-one. But I just seem to not be able to jump for obvious reasons. Like I said, it's tough, but gotta think about Game 5."

Before the conclusion of his press conference, Embiid stopped in the middle of an answer to watch an incredible moment from Game 4 of the Clippers-Jazz series. Embiid caught a glimpse of Leonard annihilating Jazz big man Derrick Favors with a one-handed dunk and couldn't help but react to the play as it unfolded.

"I just felt like I didn't have it tonight, and of course you can kind of — oh my God," Embiid said. "You see that dunk? See that Kawhi dunk? Man, wow. But you can see from the beginning of the game, it was tough. You could just tell. If I'm not dominating, especially defensively, it's easy to tell. So, I'm sure they saw it.

"But yeah, that Kawhi dunk was crazy. Man. All right, guys. Have a good night."

Perhaps that vicious slam will inspire a bounce-back performance from Embiid as the series heads back to Philly.

Jordan Greer

Jordan Greer Photo

Jordan Greer has been with The Sporting News since 2015. He previously worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He is a graduate of Westminster College and Syracuse University.