Cameroon-born Joel Embiid was in hot-blazing form in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 131–113 win over the Charlotte Hornets at the Wells Fargo Center.
He finished the game with 53 points and 12 rebounds in 34 minutes to become the first player in the NBA this season to post two 50-plus point games, following a league-best 59-point effort against the Utah Jazz in November.
Amid chants of “MVP” from the home crowd, Embiid was perfect from the free throw line, scoring all eleven of his attempts. He made two of his three 3-point attempts and finished the game with 20 of 32 field goals made.
The 28-year-old took over the game in the final three minutes of the second quarter, scoring 15 of his 28 first-half points in that stretch, before adding 14 points in the fourth quarter to seal the victory for the 76ers.
Embiid became the third player in Sixers’ history to have multiple 50-point games in the same season, joining Allen Iverson and Wilt Chamberlain. It is also the 30th game in Embiid’s career with 40 points and 10 rebounds, joining Chamberlain as the only other player in franchise history to accomplish such a feat.
The Hornets’ duo of Terry Rozier and Kelly Oubre kept their team within striking distance, scoring 29 points apiece, but the trio of Tobias Harris (17 points), De’Anthony Melton (12 points), and James Harden’s 19 points, 16 assists, and 9 rebounds double-double helped the Doc Rivers-led team to their fourteenth win of the season.
In other results, Bojan Bogdanović’s season-high 38 points were not enough to help the Detroit Pistons snap a two-game losing streak when they faced the Los Angeles Lakers at the Little Caesars Arena.
LeBron James scored 35 points, and Anthony Davis added 34 points and 15 rebounds for his seventeenth double-double of the season as the Lakers defeated the Eastern Conference team 124-117 to earn their eleventh victory of the year and snap their three-game losing streak.
At the Amway Center, the Orlando Magic completed a two-game sweep over the Toronto Raptors in their 111–99 win to secure their third straight victory.
Franz Wagner led the Magic in scoring with 23 points, while Paolo Banchero finished the game with a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds—his sixteenth 20-point or more game this season.
Gary Trent Jr. finished the game with 24 points for the Raptors, while Cameroonian-born Pascal Siakam could only come up with 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists.
Other results:
New York Knicks 112 – 99 Sacramento Kings
Atlanta Hawks 123 – 122 Chicago Bulls (After Overtime)
Houston Rockets 97 – 92 Milwaukee Bucks
New Orleans Pelicans 129 – 124 Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers 124 – 118 Minnesota Timberwolves
Denver Nuggets 115 – 110 Utah Jazz
Golden State Warriors 123 – 107 Boston Celtics
Cleveland Cavaliers 110 – 102 OKC Thunder
Indiana Pacers 133 – 136 Brooklyn Nets
Washington Wizards 107 – 114 LA Clippers
