LOS ANGELES, United States —
Joel Embiid enhanced his MVP credentials with a
43-point masterclass as the Philadelphia 76ers got back to their winning ways
with a victory over the Chicago Bulls on Monday.
اضافة اعلان
Sixers big man
Embiid had 14 rebounds and two assists in the fourth quarter as Philadelphia
pulled away for a convincing 121-106 win.
It was the 10th
time this season that Embiid has posted 40 points or more and 10 or more
rebounds in a single game.
The Sixers were
buoyed by the return of newly acquired star James Harden, who was rested for
Saturday’s defeat on the road by
Eastern Conference leaders Miami.
Harden’s return to
the starting lineup gave Embiid time and space to work his magic after he was
stymied by Miami’s defense on Saturday.
“He just got it in
rhythm,” Sixers coach
Doc Rivers said of Embiid’s performance.
“We didn’t force
it. We got him in the right spots. Joel one-on-one is very difficult.
“He’s healthy,
he’s running the floor, he’s beating people down the floor.”
Harden finished
with 16 points and 14 assists, while rising star
Tyrese Maxey added 17
points 13 of them coming in the fourth
quarter.
Georges Niang
stood out with 14 points from the bench, 12 of them coming from three-point
range, including two late in the fourth.
The Sixers
improved to 40-24 with the win, second in the Eastern Conference standings.
Rivers, however,
believes there is plenty of room for improvement.
“We won the game,
but I can’t say we played great tonight. We know that,” Rivers said.
“We’ve got to play
better. We were sloppy at times on offense, stagnant. We have to figure that
out and we will. We’re a team that is progressing all the time, getting better,
but we’re not there yet.”
The Bulls fell to
39-26 and have now lost five straight games.
Zach LaVine led
the
Chicago scoring with 26 points, while DeMar DeRozan added 23.
- Popovich close
to record -
Elsewhere on
Monday,
San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich edged closer to owning the
record for most wins in NBA history after his team defeated the Los Angeles
Lakers 117-110.
The victory means
Popovich is now level with Don Nelson at 1,335 career regular season wins.
Popovich can surpass the record on Wednesday when the Spurs face the Toronto
Raptors at home.
The 73-year-old
Popovich, who has been with the Spurs since 1996 and has led the team to five
NBA championships during his 26 years with the club, reached Nelson’s record
win tally in 370 fewer games.
In other games on
Monday, Eastern Conference leaders Miami extended their unbeaten streak to
three games with a comfortable rout over lowly Houston in Florida.
Tyler Herro poured
in 31 points and
Jimmy Butler finished with 21 as the Heat improved to 44-22 at
the top of the standings.
Bam Adebayo added
18 points, while the Heat also welcomed back Victor Oladipo, who returned from
nearly a year-long injury absence with 11 points in just under 15 minutes on
the court.
In Denver,
Nikola Jokic scored a 32-point triple double as the Nuggets sent the Golden State
Warriors spinning to a fifth straight loss.
Jokic finished
with 32 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists as the
Nuggets romped to a 131-124
victory against an under-powered Warriors team missing Stephen Curry, Klay
Thompson and Draymond Green.
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