The Philadelphia 76ers improved to 8-2 on the year Saturday night as Joel Embiid scored 30 points on the road in Chicago.
He hit four three-pointers and also grabbed 15 rebounds to send the Bulls faithful home in shock.
The win itself also made some history for head coach Doc Rivers.
The victory gave him 1,000 in his NBA coaching career and Embiid decided to surprise him following the game.
💦 This is awesome!
Joel Embiid throws a bucket of water on Doc Rivers after winning his 1,000 career game last night
“Damn, I need some new clothes!” @JoelEmbiid also gives @DocRivers the game ball#Sixers are having a lot of fun despite the drama
📸 @Sixers pic.twitter.com/OQofZyoJOj
— Jeff Skversky (@JeffSkversky) November 7, 2021
Rivers seemed to be walking into a calm locker room before Embiid appeared with a giant bucket of water to dump on his coach in celebration of the milestone.
No Distractions For This 76ers Team
The Ben Simmons situation was supposed to be one giant distraction for the 76ers this season.
Win No. 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣
With the victory tonight, Doc Rivers becomes just the 10th coach in NBA history to reach the 1,000 win mark 👏 pic.twitter.com/AamvWReu2H
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) November 7, 2021
Yet they are 8-2 and are getting great contributions from much of the roster.
Embiid leads the way with 21.4 points per game this season.
Behind him are six others averaging double-figure scoring per game.
Tobias Harris is playing at a high level as expected and this team seems to be doing just fine without Simmons.
At this point it may actually disrupt them as a team to consider bringing him back at all this year.
Rivers has held his group together and getting to 1,000 wins proves why he is such a respected coach.
He got his start with the Orlando Magic in 1999 and reached the NBA mountaintop in 2008 by winning a title with the Boston Celtics.
His goal now is to take a 76ers team that was once so focused on “The Process” and turn them into champions.
Having Embiid on the roster always helps that goal and the way Rivers has pushed the Simmons situation to the side proves he is the right man for the job.
NEXT: The 76ers May As Well Let Ben Simmons Play