Embiid stuffed the stat sheet in the Sixers’ 97-92 loss, tallying 27 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks. But he went cold in the fourth quarter, scoring just a lone point and Philly had just 16 overall. Despite trailing by 12 early on, New York won the game to take a commanding 3-1 deficit with Game 5 back at Madison Square Garden.

Nick Nurse explained the reasoning why Embiid, who is dealing with a meniscus injury recovery and Bell’s palsy, played the final 32 minutes of the game.

“He was feeling good and wanted to go,” Nurse said. “All these games are all must-win and we didn’t have a very good stretch when he was out in the first half. So, we were willing to continue on.”

The Sixers lost the four minutes Embiid sat by six points. Philly’s only points in that stretch came on free throws from Tobias Harris. Embiid, as he often does, said he simply wanted to be there for his team.

“Your competitive nature is always going to take over,” Embiid said, “and I felt that they always come back in the game in this series. So I was like, ‘I got nothing to lose. I just gotta push myself.’ Obviously, it didn’t work out the way I wanted to. But like I said, it’s whatever it takes to win.”

Joel Embiid plays entire 2nd half in 76ers’ Game 4 loss to Knicks

Typically, the 76ers rotation has Embiid play the whole first and third quarters and then sub him in when there are between eight and six minutes left in the half. That pattern remained intact in the first half as Embiid came in for the struggling Paul Reed after just four minutes. But in the second half, the only breaks Embiid had were the stoppages in play.