In a stellar performance, Joel Embiid achieved the remarkable feat of scoring at least 30 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in a single game for the 13th consecutive time.
This outstanding display contributed to the Philadelphia 76ers‘ victory against the Toronto Raptors with a final score of 121-111. Embiid’s impressive streak brings him closer to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 16 games with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1972.
During the game, Embiid showcased his exceptional skills, recording 31 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists. This stellar performance played a crucial role in the 76ers’ success, securing their eighth win in the last nine games.
“I didn’t force anything. I think I took two shots in the first six or seven minutes, but I just let the game come to me,” said the Cameroonian.
“It came to me and then in the third quarter, I just found opportunities and made a few shots.”
Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris demonstrated their scoring prowess, each contributing 33 points for the Philadelphia 76ers, while Pascal Siakam led the scoring for the Toronto Raptors with 31 points.
In another game, Stephen Curry showcased his sharpshooting skills by making a season-high eight three-pointers and scoring 30 points, leading the Golden State Warriors to a 129-118 victory over the Washington Wizards.
The Denver Nuggets, reigning champions, secured a hard-fought 122-117 victory against the Brooklyn Nets, with Jamal Murray delivering a stellar performance with 32 points, complemented by Nikola Jokic’s 31 points.
Meanwhile, Domantas Sabonis recorded an impressive triple-double with 28 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds, guiding the Sacramento Kings to a convincing 120-105 win against the Phoenix Suns.
Joel Embiid thinks it would be absurd if missing this week’s pivotal matchup against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets had any impact on his MVP aspirations.
Superstar Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers is dominating the NBA with a 33.2 point scoring average per game, surpassing his previous high of 30.6 from last season.
Moreover, he averages a respectable 10.2 rebounds per game, however this is his lowest season total since 2016–17.
Due to Embiid’s absence on account of a calf injury, Denver was able to defeat Denver 116-111 behind the play of Jokic, who scored 25 points, grabbed 17 rebounds, and provided 12 assists.
The triple-double made Jokic just the third player in NBA history to produce 10 games of at least 20 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in the same season, sparking debate over whether it could be a key moment in the MVP race.
After that game, Jokic said the absent Embiid would be “remembered as one of the most dominant players in the league”.
Whether Embiid can deny Jokic a third straight MVP award remains to be seen, and recency bias may help to tilt it the way of the Nuggets star, who is averaging 24.9 points, 11.9 rebounds and 9.9 assists.
Embiid’s message was a simple one – “I don’t care” – as he prioritises team success over individual glory.
The Nuggets head the Western Conference, with Philadelphia third in the East, so both main contenders for the MVP have done a lot of winning this season and will hope to do plenty more in the playoffs.
Embiid said: “If one game is going to hurt anybody’s chances, then I guess everybody should be out of it. We all have bad games. Guys miss matchups.
“That’s not the first time, and it’s not really a matchup about me and Nikola. He’s a great player, amazing player. He’s one of the best players in the league, and I’m a huge fan.
“So not playing against him was a huge bummer. But there’s a bigger goal in sight, and that’s to make sure we’re healthy for the playoffs.”
Embiid had a standout game against the Nuggets on January 28, outshining Jokic with 47 points and 18 rebounds in a Sixers win, so he is adamant there was no desire to duck another clash with Denver’s talisman.
He added on Wednesday, after returning to score 25 points in Philadelphia’s 116-108 win over the Dallas Mavericks: “I’ve got nothing to prove. The last matchup, we won, and I had whatever I had.
“To go out there and say that I’m scared after what I did the last time is kind of stupid. But, like I said, I don’t care if I win it or not. I’m just focused on trying to win a championship, and whatever happens, happens.”
Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers supported Embiid’s stance, saying ahead of Wednesday’s game: “Joel’s body of work speaks for itself. You’re not judged for one game. You’re judged for the entire season of work and your team’s record and how you perform, and he’s been dominant all year.”
Looking at whether missing out last time out could harm Embiid’s MVP prospects, Rivers said it might have an impact, but he is baffled as to why that would be the case.
“Will that hurt him? I doubt it. But it could,” Rivers said. “I don’t know what people use for criteria. It seems like it changes weekly, what the real criteria is.
“Before, it was a bunch of numbers. Now, it’s wins. I’m like, ‘Well, it wasn’t wins last year’. You know what I’m saying? It just feels like, every year, it keeps changing.”
Jokic took MVP honours last season when the Nuggets finished sixth in the Western Conference.
It looked as if the Philadelphia 76ers’ three-game winning streak was ending against thePortland Trail Blazers, but an impressive comeback saw them win 120-119. MVP candidate Joel Embiid scored the game-winner with 1.1 seconds remaining, giving the hosts their first lead of the game.
The win was Sixers’ fifth in six games in March. The Blazers dominated much of the contest, leading by as much as 21 points, and never tied with the hoasts until midway through the fourth quarter.
The hosts were poor in the first half, but the tide started to turn for them in the second half, thanks to Embiid’s heroics. He finished with 39 points on 13-of-20 shooting, seven rebounds and four assists in 37 minutes.
For the visitors, Anfernee Simons finished with 34 points, including eight three-pointers. Damian Lillard had a quiet game. He scored 22 points and made two of his eight three-point attempts.
Embiid’s reaction to huge win Embiid is in the race for the MVP award this season.
He is averaging 33.4 points per game, the best in the NBA. He explained his game-winner.
“Yeah, that’s the perfect spot, honestly, especially from my previous years,” Embiid said. “I’ve had a couple of opportunities of game winners and stuff and we kept trying to post. It’s easy to double and there’s not enough space.
But when you get enough in those positions at the nail or the top of the key, the court is wide open because, most of the time, guys don’t want to give up 3s, via ESPN.
The 28-year-old now has 23 games with 35 or more points this season, tying Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal in 1999/2000 as the most by a center since then. The Sixers are third in the Eastern Conference with a 444-22 record, four games behind leaders Milwaukee Bucks and 1.5 games behind second-placed Boston Celtics.
Sports Brief recently reported on Embiid becoming the fastest player in Sixers’ history to reach 10,000 career points. He eclipsed that mark in the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, scoring 29 points in 39 minutes of action. Embiid accomplished that feat in 373 games, passing Philadelphia legend Iverson for the fewest games to reach that mark.
Joel Embiid had an injury scare late as the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers charged home but ultimately fell short in a 112-109 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.
Embiid appeared to roll his left ankle when he tripped over teammate Georges Niang with 5:53 remaining in the fourth quarter. He writhed in pain on the ground and was attended to by a trainer before hobbling to the bench at Wells Fargo Center.
The Sixers center played the game out but limped throughout yet nailed a three-pointer to make it 105-102, before Timberwolves top scorer Anthony Edwards steadied it with his second triple of the game.
Embiid finishedwith 32 points, including making 18-of-20 from the free-throw line, with nine rebounds, six assists and three steals for the Sixers, who were without James Harden and Tyrese Maxey due to foot injuries.
Shake Milton added 27 points, while De’Anthony Melton made five three-pointers in his 19-point haul. Melton’s three with 29.1 seconds remaining moved the 76ers within one point, before he missed a lay-up and Edwards iced the game from the stripe. The Sixers had trailed by 20 points but rallied with a 25-15 fourth quarter.
For the winners, Edwards had 25 points with five rebounds and five assists, while point guard D’Angelo Russell scored 19 points with seven assists.
French center Rudy Gobert scored eight points with 13 rebounds and Karl-Anthony Towns added 12 points with eight rebounds.
The result leaves both sides with 8-8 records, with the Timberwolves having won three straight. Embiid’s 32 points means he is averaging 41.25 across his past four games.
Trae shines as Hawks win with OT buzzer-beater
Trae Young fed A.J. Griffin under the basket for a buzzer-beating two-pointer in overtime as the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Toronto Raptors 124-122.
Young took an inbound pass with 3.8 seconds remaining in overtime with scores tied, racing clear as Griffin – who is the son of Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin – got behind the defense, allowing the Hawks guard to find him wide open for a routine lay-up in the nick of time.
Atlanta hauled in a seven-point deficit with 2:36 to go in the fourth quarter, led by Young, who finished with 33 points on 12-of-21 shooting with 12 assists. Scottie Barnes had a season-high 28 points for injury-hit Toronto, who only dressed nine players.
George hurt as Clippers blow out Spurs
Paul George hit three first-half three-pointers before being ruled out with knee soreness at half-time while Kawhi Leonard’s impact was limited again but the Los Angeles Clippers blew out the San Antonio Spurs 119-97.
George played 15 first-half minutes, scoring 21 minutes on five-of-eight three-point shooting, while Leonard played 22 minutes for 11 points with four assists in his second game back after stiffness in his surgically repaired knee.
Norman Powell came off the bench to score a game-high 26 points, with five-of-seven three-point shooting, as the Clippers improved to 9-7. The Clippers hit 13 first-half triples and finished with 21 for the game on 53.8 per cent three-point shooting.
Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers has never seen anything like Joel Embiid’s performance at both ends in Sunday’s 105-98 win over the Utah Jazz.
Embiid scored a career-best 59 points, with a joint career-high seven blocks, along with 11 rebounds and eight assists.
The Cameroonian scored 26 of Philadelphia’s 27 final quarter points and more than half their total score, a feat not achieved in the NBA since Damian Lillard in 2019.
“I’ve seen a guy score a lot of points,” Rivers told reporters. “I haven’t seen guys score a lot of points, rebound, and then the blocked shots. That was impressive.
“He was just getting everything. I’ve never seen a more dominating performance when you combine defense and offense.”
Joel Embiid’s 59 points marks the 5th best scoring performance in 76ers franchise history:
Embiid’s teammates were left in awe too, with Matisse Thybulle labelling his stat line as “pretty ridiculous”.
“It’s absurd. Actually, my friends were texting me after the game and they were like ‘It’s like a 2K stat line’ and it’s not one of those things you see in a real basketball game,” Thybulle said.
“It’s like when you pick one player on 2K and just do everything with him. It’s pretty ridiculous if I’m being honest. It’s amazing.”
Embiid’s 59 points is the best in the NBA this season, exceeding Darius Garland’s mark of 51 set earlier on Sunday in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 129-124 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Since blocks became official in 1973-74, Joel Embiid is the first player in NBA History to record 50+ points, 10+ rebounds, 5+ assists, and 5+ blocks in a game. https://t.co/xtwTgbCmmC
Despite his monstrous performance, Embiid played down the significance of his individual display.
“This is not about me. We did it as a team,” the 28-year-old center said. “Obviously, the coaches put me in those positions, and obviously, my teammates fed me the ball. I thought we had great spacing around everything we were doing.
“Like I said, all the credit goes to my teammates just being in the right spots and trusting me and giving me the ball.”
Embiid shot 19-of-28 from the field including making a three-pointer, which reinforced to him that it was going to be his game.
“When I finally made a three [I knew it was going to be a big game] because I’ve been shooting the ball so bad this year from three,” he said.
“It was early in the game. I saw how they were guarding me. Just like last night, I’ll take that every night. If they’re not gonna double team as much, I hope every team does it so I’ll take it, but from the beginning… Obviously, in the fourth quarter with the game being so close, I just wanted to do whatever it took.”
