Joel Embiid bounded on the court and pointed at Shake Milton following an electrifying stretch that might have saved Philadelphia’s season and yelled, “I told you be ready!”
Sure enough, Embiid — who had a sideline confrontation last season with Milton — rallied the forgotten guard with a pregame pep talk.
“For some reason,” Embiid said, “I felt like he was going to be needed.”
Milton buried a 32-footer and scored 14 points, and Embiid had a playoff-best 40 points and 13 rebounds to lead the 76ers past the Atlanta Hawks 118-102 in Game 2 on Tuesday night and even the Eastern Conference semifinal.
Game 3 is Friday in Atlanta.
“It really shows what the playoffs is about,” 76ers forward Tobias Harris said. “You never know who’s going to be able to step up.”
Milton took his turn in Game 2.
Milton shined at times as a sixth man this season before he fell out of favor and slogged through an awful first round against Washington (3.4 points per game).
