Joel Embiid on Wednesday scored a season-high 51 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to accomplish feats unseen for more than half a century as the Philadelphia 76ers beat NBA-best the Minnesota Timberwolves 127-113.
The reigning NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) sparked the Sixers (19-8) to their seventh victory in eight games and snapped the four-game win streak of the Western Conference-leading Timberwolves, who slipped to 20-6.
Embiid became the first NBA player with 12 consecutive games of 30 or more points and 10 or more rebounds since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1972.
Photo: AFP
He also became the first 76er since Wilt Chamberlain in 1967 with three consecutive games of 40 or more points and 10 or more rebounds.
“He does it every night so consistently,” 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey said of Embiid. “We expect it of him and he goes out there and performs every single night.”
Embiid, the NBA’s top scorer at 34.4 points per game, said the triumph avenged a loss in Minnesota last month when he was unable to play due to a hip injury.
“That’s one of the best teams in the league and the best in the West,” Embiid said. “We felt like we had to get them back and I’m glad everybody just showed up.”
“To start the third quarter, we had some rough patches, but we stuck together and we kept pushing and we got the win,” he said.
The 29-year-old Cameroonian lifted the Sixers to their biggest lead in the final minutes.
Embiid scored 20 points in the first half, 19 more in the third quarter and completed the seventh 50-point performance of his career — and second of the season — on a jumper with 1 minute, 46 seconds remaining.
Embiid made 17 of 25 shots from the floor and 17 of 18 free throws while adding three assists, two steals and a blocked shot in humbling the NBA’s top defensive team and its big men, Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 27 points, while Towns had 23 points and 13 rebounds.
Elsewhere, the Boston Celtics took over the NBA’s best record, improving to 21-6 with a 144-119 victory against Sacramento to snap the Kings’ four-game win streak.
The Celtics, without top scorer and rebounder Jayson Tatum due to a left-ankle sprain, were led by 28 points each by Jaylen Brown and Derrick White, while De’Aaron Fox led Sacramento with 29.
The Los Angeles Clippers stretched their win streak to nine games with a 120-111 victory against the Dallas Mavericks as Kawhi Leonard had 30 points and 10 rebounds, and James Harden added 17 points and 11 assists.
Two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic scored 31 points and added 15 rebounds and six assists as reigning champions the Denver Nuggets won 113-104 against the Toronto Raptors.
DeMar DeRozan had 27 points, nine assists and seven rebounds to spark the Chicago Bulls over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers 124-108.
Julius Randle scored 26 points and Donte DiVincenzo added 23 to lead the New York Knicks over the Brooklyn Nets 121-102, while reserve Sam Merrill’s 27 points led hosts the Cleveland Cavaliers over the Utah Jazz 124-116.
Trae Young’s 30 points and 14 assists led the Atlanta Hawks’ 134-127 victory against the Houston Rockets, while Tyler Herro had 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to spark the Miami Heat’s 115-106 victory against the Orlando Magic.
Buddy Hield scored 25 points and Tyrese Haliburton added 19 points and 13 assists in the Indiana Pacers’ 144-113 home win over the Charlotte Hornets.
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