MANILA, Philippines – Joel Embiid could not hold back his tears as the Philadelphia 76ers got the ax in the Eastern Conference semifinals for the second straight year.
The 76ers absorbed a heartbreaking 90-92 loss in Game 7 after Kawhi Leonard drained the game-winning shot at the buzzer for the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, May 12 (Monday, May 13, Philippine time).
It turned into better offense versus good defense in the final possession as Leonard drilled in a tough fallaway jumper from the baseline over the outstretched arms of Embiid.
THE SHOT. THE BOUNCE. THE WIN. Kawhi Leonard drops in the #TissotBuzzerBeater to lift the @Raptors to the Game 7 win! #ThisIsYourTime #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/bpRx7GXiKu — NBA (@NBA) May 13, 2019
As soon as the shot dropped, so did Embiid's tears.
The seven-foot Cameroonian had to be consoled by several Raptors including Marc Gasol, Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam before heading into the locker room.
Nothing but respect after a 7-game series. @JoelEmbiid x @MarcGasol pic.twitter.com/PyeiuET278 — NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 13, 2019
There, he took solace from his girlfriend Anne de Paula.
Give us a guy who cares this much. Give us a guy who pours his heart out after a heartbreaking loss. Thank you, Joel Embiid. You will be back. pic.twitter.com/G2uqTP2Day — NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) May 13, 2019
Philadelphia head coach Brett Brown believes Embiid will only come out better after the loss.
Sixers' Brett Brown on what Game 7 loss to Raptors means to Joel Embiid: "It's going to be a life memory that, as painful as it feels now, it will help shape his career and give him greater clarity of what this time of the year represents. It's hard to be the last man standing." pic.twitter.com/VkNH3wI35j — Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) May 13, 2019
"It's hard to be the last man standing. And to see him to have the emotion that he has – and he's one of many in that locker room – it is painful for all of us," Brown told reporters after the game.
"He'll look in the rearview mirror and remember this. He will come out better and smarter and stronger and more aware of really what it takes to play longer than what we've been able to play." – Rappler.com
