LOS ANGELES – Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid put on a show his veteran coach called the most “dominating” he had ever seen, as he nearly became just the fifth player in National Basketball Association history to record a quadruple-double.
Instead, the five-time All-Star centre had to settle for a career-high 59 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and a career-high-tying seven blocks in Philadelphia’s 105-98 win over the Utah Jazz on Sunday.
The 28-year-old Cameroonian summed it up simply, saying: “My teammates knew who had the hot hand and they just had to feed me.”
Embiid, who reached the 50-point plateau for the third time in his career, was 19 for 28 from the field and hit 20 of his 24 free throws.
All while chants of “M-V-P” were raining down at the Sixers’ Wells Fargo Centre. Embiid finished second behind Denver Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic in last season’s NBA Most Valuable Player stakes.
“I’ve never seen a more dominating performance, when you combine defence and offence,” said 76ers coach Doc Rivers. This, after Embiid became the first player in league history with 50 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five blocks in a game, since blocks became an official statistic in the 1973-74 season.
He dominated the fourth quarter, especially down the stretch, as he scored 26 of the Sixers’ 27 fourth-quarter points – including the club’s final 13 to secure the victory.
“It’s funny,” said teammate Tyrese Maxey, who was the only other Sixer to finish in double digits with 18 points. “At one point, coach was trying to run a play, like a pick-and-roll play and, I was like, ‘Let’s get the ball to Joel.’ And he was like, ‘I agree.’ Because he’s really good right now.”
The teams were tied heading into the final period, and Embiid’s turnaround jump shot with less than six minutes remaining knotted the score at 94-94.
He hit two free throws on Philadelphia’s next possession for a 98-96 lead. His fadeaway jumper with a minute remaining put his side up 103-98 and he closed out the scoring with a pair of free throws.
Five of his blocks came in the fourth, including a late swat with the Sixers leading by three that helped deny the Jazz a road win.
“What’s more impressive is the defence,” said 76ers forward P. J. Tucker. “Being there protecting the rim, being there, low man, consistently all night. To me, that was bigger than all the points he scored, just the things he did on defence. He communicated better today, and I think that stuff takes a little bit more even on offence because he’s so in tune with the game.”
There was another 50-point performance in the NBA on Sunday, as Cleveland guard Darius Garland scored 27 of his 51 points in the fourth quarter.
But his heroics were not enough to prevent the Cavaliers from losing their first home game this season, 129-124 to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“Special,” Cavs veteran Kevin Love said of Garland’s performance. “A masterclass by Darius that was just beautiful.” REUTERS, AFP
