Joel Embiid delivered his sixth NBA career triple double on Monday with 30 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to lead Philadelphia’s 138-94 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The 29-year-old Cameroonian 7-footer (2.13m), last season’s NBA Most Valuable Player, notched his first triple double of the campaign on the same night the 76ers made 22 3-pointers, one shy of the club record in a single game.
Embiid made 9-of-15 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range, and sank 10 of his 12 free throws.
“You’re trying to play winning basketball,” Embiid said. “When my teammates are wide open, I want to get them easy shots, just make the game easy for myself.”
Tyrese Maxey scored a game-high 31 points and added eight assists for the Sixers, who shot 47-of-93 from the floor and 22-of-46 from 3-point range.
“We’re playing together. We’re having fun sharing the ball,” Embiid said. “The ball is moving. We know what we’ve got to do. It’s starts on defense. Once you get stops, you get in transition and get easy baskets.”
Maxey went 5-of-12 from 3-point range while Patrick Beverley was 4-of-8 from beyond the arc and Marcus Morris was 4-of-5 with 3-point shots.
“We want everyone to shoot a ton of threes and it paid off today,” Beverley said. “When we get on the court it’s easy. In practice we give each other hell.”
It was the most lopsided blowout in the history of the rivalry, eclipsing a 31-point win by the Syracuse Nationals, who moved to Philadelphia, over the then-Minneapolis Lakers in November 1951.
Four-time NBA MVP LeBron James led the Lakers with 18 points while Anthony Davis added 17 and 11 rebounds for the visitors.
The Lakers hit their first four shots then missed 10 of their next 11, going more than four minutes without a basket, while the 76ers went on a 20-2 run.
Embiid scored seven and Maxey had six in the spurt as the hosts seized a 32-19 lead after the first quarter and 68-53 halftime lead.
The Sixers pulled ahead 98-80 entering the fourth quarter and the Lakers never threatened in the final minutes.
Philadelphia improved to 12-5, one game behind Eastern Conference leader Boston, while the Lakers slid to 10-8, eighth in the Western Conference.
In a showdown of the NBA’s worst teams at Detroit, Washington’s Kyle Kuzma scored 32 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and added eight assists to spark the visiting Wizards over the Pistons 126-107.
Washington, with seven double-figure scorers, improved to 3-14 while the Pistons, led by Cade Cunningham’s 26 points, sank to a league-worst 2-15.
The Pistons’ losing streak stretched to 14 games while the Wizards snapped a nine-game win drought.
Portland’s Jerami Grant scored 34 points, Malcolm Brogdon added 24 points and Bahamian center Deandre Ayton contributed 22 points and 13 rebounds to lift the Trail Blazers over host Indiana 114-110.
Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers with 33 points and a game-high nine assists.
Later games find defending champion Denver at the Los Angeles Clippers and New Orleans at Utah.