Joel Embiid on Monday delivered his sixth NBA career triple-double to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 138-94 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Cameroonian’s 30 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists helped inflict on LeBron James the most lopsided loss of his career.
Embiid made nine-of-15 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from three-point range, and sank 10 of his 12 free throws.
Photo: AP
“You’re trying to play winning basketball,” Embiid said. “When my teammates are wide open, I want to get them easy shots, just make the game easy for myself.”
The 29-year-old, 2.13m NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) last season notched his first triple-double of the campaign in three quarters on the same night the 76ers made 22 three-pointers, one shy of the club record.
Tyrese Maxey scored a game-high 31 points and added eight assists for the Sixers, who shot 47-of-93 from the floor and 22-of-46 from three-point range.
“We’re playing together. We’re having fun sharing the ball,” Embiid said. “The ball is moving. We know what we’ve got to do. It starts on defense. Once you get stops, you get in transition and get easy baskets.”
Four-time NBA MVP James, who led the Lakers with 18 points, endured the heaviest defeat of his 21-year NBA career.
“What needs to change in order for that to not happen again? A lot,” James said, without elaboration.
The miserable milestones piled up for the Lakers. It was their worst loss to the 76ers in 290 games in the series. The scoreline eclipsed a 31-point win by the Syracuse Nationals, who moved to Philadelphia, over the then-Minneapolis Lakers in November 1951 as the biggest margin between the two franchises.
It was also the seventh-straight time Philadelphia beat Los Angeles.
It was so bad, James did not even grab a rebound.
“That’s my favorite team,” Embiid said, again noting that he learned of basketball through Kobe Bryant. “Any time I play against them, you want to get the win, but I do it every night anyways against every other team.”
Still, James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the all-time NBA minutes played in regular season and playoffs combined at more than 66,300.
Philadelphia improved to 12-5, one game behind Eastern Conference leader the Boston Celtics, while the Lakers slid to 10-8.
Elsewhere on Monday, depleted defending NBA champions the Denver Nuggets, sparked by guard Reggie Jackson and 35-year-old center DeAndre Jordan, rallied late to beat hosts Los Angeles Clippers 113-104.
The shorthanded Nuggets were without two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic due to a back injury, forward Aaron Gordon with a sore right heel and guard Jamal Murray with a right hamstring injury.
Denver began the fourth quarter with a 22-6 run to grab a 99-94 lead and held off Los Angeles down the stretch.
Hosts the Utah Jazz edged the New Orleans Pelicans 114-112, as Keyonte George scored 19 points and Jordan Clarkson added 16 and 10 assists.
Zion Williamson scored a game-high 26 points for the Pelicans, while Brandon Ingram added 25.
In a matchup of the NBA’s worst teams, Washington’s Kyle Kuzma scored 32 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and added eight assists to spark the visiting Wizards over the Detroit Pistons 126-107.
Portland’s Jerami Grant scored 34 points and Bahamian center Deandre Ayton contributed 22 points and 13 rebounds to lift the Trail Blazers over hosts the Indiana Pacers 114-110.
Additional reporting by AP
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