There’s a new king in Philadelphia, as Joel Embiid scored a franchise-record 70 points to beat San Antonio 133 to 123 this Monday night. Not only is this the highest amount of points per game in the NBA this season, but the big man also broke Wilt Chamberlain’s 76ers record of 68 points, set up back in 1967.
The Sixers center, who also set a career high of 18 rebounds, was 24 of 41 from field goal attempts, 1 of 2 from beyond the arc and 21 of 23 from free throws. The reigning MVP’s feat came 18 years to the day since Kobe Bryant dropped 81 points for the Lakers, the second-highest amount in league history.
“From the time I started playing, Kobe was my guy. He’s the reason why I started playing basketball. It’s funny, on the same night, he got 81 and that was my favourite player,” Joel told NBA.com postgame.
The six-time All-Star has now hit at least 30 points in 21 matches in a row, becoming only the ninth athlete to ever score 70+ points in a single contest. His rival Victor Wembanyama also had a big game, after dropping 33 points and earning 7 rebounds in 29 minutes of play.
Embiid revealed that playing against the No.1 pick of the 2023 NBA Draft added some motivation to his historic display. “I wouldn’t sit here and lie to you, but that’s my mindset every single game,” he said after the game. “My mindset is to attack, dominate offensively and defensively, so tonight was no different.”
His teammate Tyrese Maxey isn’t surprised at all after his teammate’s feat. “Honestly, it feels like that every game,” he expressed. “His shots, they all look like they’re extremely easy to him. Every (mid-range shot) he takes, every time he jabs and gets into his face-up game, you think it’s going in, honestly.
“And you know when he goes to the free-throw line, he’s going to make those, too. He has it going a lot. I don’t know. He’s just special. Extremely special.”
The 29-year-old tied his career high of 59 points during the first three quarters, and finally re-entered the game with 6:38 left as Philadelphia was ahead by 14 points.
Rival coach Gregg Popovich said postgame he told Wembanyama to “hammer” Embiid’s butt during the match
Before the contest started, you can’t help but wonder what was the strategy to stop Embiid’s dominance. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich revealed that he’d given Wembanyama specific instructions on how to deal with the reigning MVP.
“Hammer his (butt). I told Wemby to back him down over the rim and just throw him through the rim,” the legendary trainer joked during the postgame interview, while Wemby lamented the loss: “It would have been more fun in a win, of course, but it’s inspiring, especially offensively.”
Gregg Popovich: We’re gonna hammer his ass.
Joel Embiid: Puts up a Franchise record 70 points. #BrotherlyLove #76ers pic.twitter.com/vrBzh20ukm
— ☆𝘏𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘦𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘎𝘖𝘋☆ (@JalenCarterDPOY) January 23, 2024
On the other hand, coach Nick Nurse praised Joel for demonstrating all the ways he’s able to get points, and how he uses his size to overcome rival defenses.
“Obviously he can score in so many ways, just his sheer size gets him a lot of stuff around the basket, gets him a lot of free throws,” said the Sixers trainer. “The shooting touch is the skill part. The way he moves, the skill he has, the size he is, and he gets motivated like that, anything can happen I guess.”
