Joel Embiid recorded the sixth triple-double of his NBA career with 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists to help the Philadelphia 76ers earn a 138-94 win against the visiting Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night. The Sixers, who blew out the Lakers 137-106 in their last meeting in January, held LeBron James and Anthony Davis to only 18 and 17 points, respectively. Tyrese Maxey also helped stifle the Lakers on offense, scoring 31 points with a team-leading nine rebounds.
Embiid was in a groove, scoring 19 points in the first quarter and going 5-for-8 from 3-point distance. He ripped off seven more in the second period and finished the game 10-for-16 from deep. His passmaking was also very good, with Embiid dished out 14 assists in the first half alone. He was surgical when using the dribble-handoff with Maxey and worked well to find other teammates from the free-throw line.
The 76ers pounded the Lakers on defense, with Patrick Beverley and Robert Covington constantly putting pressure on their opponent’s guards. The Sixers harassed the Lakers’ ball handlers into committing turnovers and forced LA to turn them over 17 times.
After a slow start, the 76ers began to pull away late in the third quarter. They took a commanding 65-51 lead into the fourth, enough to put the game out of reach. The 76ers from the charity stripe were even better, making 20 of 26 attempts in the final frame.
Maxey was the X-factor for Philly, and he didn’t disappoint. The big man worked around the edges to compliment Embiid perfectly, whirring around pin-down screens and handoff actions to get open for jumpers or help create driving angles. He scored 20 of his 31 points in the first half and finished 6-for-12 from 3-point distance.
The Sixers shot 22-for-46 as a team from deep, one trey short of the franchise record. Those three-pointers were the difference in the game.
The 76ers won for the fourth time in six games and are a game behind the Boston Celtics for first place in the Eastern Conference. The Sixers’ next visit is the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night. They’ll also play the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday afternoon before returning home to take on the Miami Heat. Both of those games are nationally televised on TNT. The 76ers have won four of their past five meetings with the Lakers, dating back to the 2017-18 season. The teams meet again on Feb. 26 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. That game will air on TNT at 6 p.m. ET.
