Joel Embiid set his career best against Franz Wagner‘s Orlando Magic and led the Philadelphia 76ers to their next win. Dennis Schröder plays well, but the Boston Celtics still lose. Giannis Antetokounmpo leads the Milwaukee Bucks to victory in the big game against Memphis.
Philadelphia 76ers (26-18) – Orlando Magic (8-38) 123:110 (BOXSCORE)
- The Sixers fans had booed their team in the second quarter, and less than an hour later the Wells Fargo Center was a madhouse. Joel Embiid burned off fireworks and after three sections already had 47 points (17/23 FG, 12/13 FT), 12 rebounds and 3 blocks. As a result, the reservists increased their lead to 17 points, so there was actually no reason for the MVP candidate to play again.
- But Embiid returned for a good minute and ended his career high with three free throws. The center missed the chance of 51 points with a missed free throw, after which Embiid said goodbye to the bench again. The Cameroonian only had 27 minutes to score, only Klay Thompson scored more points in such a short time in his three-point record in Chicago (52 points).
- Embiid may also have been spurred on by Mo Bamba, who was playing the game of his life. In the first half alone, the center sank seven of his eight threes and had already pulverized his career high of 21 points (28). In the second half, not much was added, there were 32 points (12/15 FG, 7/8 three), also because Philly took the big a little more seriously. Bamba didn’t have an answer to Embiid either, the Sixers star fouled the Magic Big with his last action.
- Orlando still led by 10 points at the break before Embiid turned the game around with 23 points in the third period. Improved Tyrese Maxey (14) and Tobias Harris (21) also helped after the break. Franz Wagner (9, 3/11 FG, 11 rebounds) hardly hit anything from the field and missed his second double-double. Brother Moritz only came into play in the fourth quarter and put up 6 points (3/6) and 2 rebounds in 10 minutes. Chuma Okeke (18, 6/7 threes) let it rain again in garbage time.
Washington Wizards (23-22) – Brooklyn Nets (28-16) 118:119 (BOXSCORE)
- Take a deep breath with the Nets, who led in Washington by up to 16 points in the second half, but ultimately had to tremble until the final buzzer. James Harden was knocked out by Montrezl Harrell at +1, giving the Wizards another shot. Kyle Kuzma, who had shortened from downtown a few seconds earlier, missed this time from a distance, and a last desperate attempt by Spencer Dinwiddie also fell short.
- So the Nets came out of the capital with a black eye and were ultimately able to thank LaMarcus Aldridge. The oldie not only scored 27 points (11/15) coming off the bench, but also recorded the last 6 points for his colors. The 36-year-old converted nine jump shots from the middle distance.
- Kyrie Irving was similarly hot for a long time, recording 22 of his 30 points (13/23, plus 7 assists) in the first half. James Harden (18, 7/21, 9 assists), on the other hand, struggled from distance, but that was true for all the visiting players except Patty Mills (17, 5/7 threes). Bradley Beal (23, 7/18) and Kuzma (16) were the best scorers for the Wizards, with four other players scoring in double figures.
- This game also had a curiosity. As Spencer Dinwiddie tried to corner a pass to Kuzma, a hand suddenly shot out from the Nets bench and stopped the pass. It was an assistant coach, David Vanterpool, but the referees let the game continue – much to the displeasure of the hosts.
Atlanta Hawks (19-25) – Minnesota Timberwolves (22-23) 134:122 (BOXSCORE)
- It’s an unbelievable statistic, but Wolves have now lost a back-to-back away from home for the 28th straight season, having won the day before. Things looked good in Atlanta at first, but after a furious first half, the Hawks actually started to play something like defense.
- Up front, Trae Young, who hadn’t scored in the first quarter, turned up the heat. After that, however, the point guard showed that he is acting at All-NBA level this season and dissected the Wolves with 37 points (6/10 three-pointers) and 14 assists. It was also the guard who turned the game around at the beginning of the second half. Atlanta put on a 20-2 run, Young recorded three triples and played 4 dimes.
- Frustration set in at Minnesota, Anthony Edwards (20, 7/16), who had previously played a strong first half, bowed out with two techinals after arguing with the umpires for too long. The Wolves never recovered from that. D’Angelo Russell was the guests’ best scorer with 31 points (10/18), Karl-Anthony Towns (17, 10 rebounds, 7 assists) fouled in the final minute.
- For Atlanta, all starters plus Danilo Gallinari (15) scored double digits in the second home game win in a row, with John Collins (17, 12 boards) once again collecting a double-double. Onyeka Okongwu (17, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks), who did his job more than properly as Capela’s replacement on the five, also knew how to please.
