Joel Embiid had 53 points and 11 rebounds, leading the Philadelphia 76ers to a 131-113 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night.
With the home crowd serenading him with MVP! chants, Embiid became the first player in the NBA this season to post two 50-plus point performances, adding Sunday’s performance to a league-best 59-point effort on Nov. 13 against Utah.
‘The ball just found me,’ Embiid said. ‘I thought we moved the ball well all night and the ball just found me.’
Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid, left, tries to get past Charlotte Hornets’ Nick RichardsÂ
Embiid became the third player in Sixers history to have multiple 50-point games in the same season, joining Allen Iverson (2000-01 and 2004-05) and Wilt Chamberlain (1965-66 and 1967-68). It is also the 30th game in Embiid’s career with 40 points and 10 rebounds. The only other player in franchise history to accomplish that feat was Chamberlain.
‘We won,’ Embiid said. ‘It’s good to do that when you win. … I’m just happy that I’m contributing when we are winning.’
James Harden had 19 points, 16 assists, and nine rebounds to help Embiid’s effort.
‘He was in attack mode for the entire game,’ Harden said. ‘He made scoring look easy tonight. He was aggressive getting to the basket and his jumper was falling.’
Tobias Harris scored 17 points and De’Anthony Melton added 12 for Philadelphia, which shot 55.4%.
‘We didn’t run, but we played with pace and got open shots,’ Sixers coach Doc Rivers said.
Charlotte was led by Kelly Oubre Jr. and Terry Rozier, who each scored 29 points. The Hornets have lost five straight games.
‘We had good intent tonight,’ Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. ‘The first six or seven minutes of the game, we had good defense. Our transition defense was a problem tonight and we have to fix that. Besides Joel, that was the story of the first half. But we did a lot of good things.’
Embiid dunks the ball and hangs from the rim after getting past Hornets’ Kelly Oubre Jr.
Embiid took the game over in the final three minutes of the second quarter, scoring 15 of his 28 first-half points in that stretch by exploiting a mismatch against Hornets forward Mason Plumlee. On one play, Embiid drove down the left side of the lane from the foul line, extended high over Plumlee and threw down a thunderous dunk that charged up the Wells Fargo Center crowd. It was part of a three straight possessions stretch that ended with Embiid scoring and going to the line for the old-fashioned 3-point play.
‘We have a saying that you have to feed the hot hand,’ Embiid said. ‘… You got to keep feeding them until the defense stops it once or twice or three times in that situation. I just kept scoring and they just kept giving me the ball.’
The Hornets (7-20) stayed within striking distance through the early part of the fourth quarter, thanks to Oubre and Rozier, who were able to drive the lane and get easy looks while being helped by 15 offensive rebounds.
But Embiid put the game out of reach by scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter before being pulled with two minutes left. He finished 20 for 32 from the field and hit all 11 of his free throws.
Embiid (21) shoots the ball past Hornets forward Jalen McDaniels (6) and forward P.J. Washington (25) and guard Terry Rozier (3)
LAKERS 124, PISTONS 117
LeBron James scored 35 points, Anthony Davis had 34 points and 15 rebounds and Los Angeles beat Detroit to end a three-game losing streak.
Davis also had seven assists as the Lakers overcame 38 points from Bojan Bogdanovic. Lonnie Walker IV added 18 points for Los Angeles and Russell Westbrook had 11 points and nine assists.
Rookie Jaden Ivey had 16 points for Detroit. The Pistons have lost three in a row.
Anthony Davis high-fives teammate LeBron James during the game against the Detroit Pistons
ROCKETS 97, BUCKS 92
Jalen Green had 30 points and seven rebounds, Kevin Porter Jr. added 18 points and seven assists and Houston beat Milwaukee to extend its home-winning streak to four games.
Houston was coached by assistant coach John Lucas with head coach Stephen Silas away from the team following the death of father and long-time NBA player and coach Paul Silas.
Jrue Holiday had 25 points and eight assists for Milwaukee, Bobby Portis added 17 points and 15 rebounds and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 16 points and 18 rebounds. The Bucks had won four in a row.
Jalen Green of the Houston Rockets shoots the ball during the game against Milwaukee Bucks
PELICANS 129, SUNS 124, OT
Zion Williamson scored 35 points and New Orleans beat short-handed Phoenix in overtime for its seventh straight victory.
CJ McCollum added 29 for the Pelicans, who beat the Suns – playing without star guard Devin Booker because of tightness in his left hamstring – for the second time in three days and won for the 12th time in their last 14 games as they´ve surged to the Western Conference lead.
Deandre Ayton had 28 points and 12 rebounds for Phoenix but fouled out on Williamson´s drive with New Orleans clinging to a two-point lead in the final minute of regulation. Mikal Bridges scored 27 points for Phoenix.
Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans shoots the ball against the Phoenix Suns
HAWKS 123, BULLS 122, OT
A.J. Griffin hit a 6-footer on an alley-oop pass at the overtime buzzer and Atlanta beat Chicago to snap a three-game losing streak,
DeMar DeRozan made three free throws with 0.5 seconds remaining in overtime to finish with 33 points and give the Bulls the lead,
But Griffin took the alley-oop pass from Jalen Johnson on the sideline and scored on a turnaround jumper.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 17 of his 28 points in the first half for Atlanta. Trae Young had 19 points and 14 assists.
Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) makes a three-point shot over Chicago Bulls Coby White
KNICKS 112, KINGS 99
Julius Randle and RJ Barrett each scored 27 points and New York beat Sacramento for its winning streak to a season-high four games.
Randle had all 27 points by halftime, then was ejected with 3:35 left in the third quarter after arguing a non-call and receiving two technical fouls.
Domantas Sabonis led Sacramento with 20 points. The Kings were held under 100 points for the first time this season.
RJ Barrett of the New York Knicks shoots the ball during the game against Sacramento
MAGIC 111, RAPTORS 99
Franz Wagner scored 23 points, Paolo Banchero added 20 points and 12 rebounds and Orlando beat Toronto for its third straight victory.
Orlando´s last three-game winning streak was in February 2021.
Gary Trent Jr. led Toronto with 24 points, while Fred Van Fleet was the team’s second leading contributor with 20.
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Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) is defended by Toronto Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr.
