Philadelphia 76ers C Joel Embiid continued to be his dominant self Friday night against the Spurs. Embiid had his sixth straight game of 30 points and his 13th 30-point game of the season as he tallied 31 points, 12 boards, and seven assists.
Ultimately, the 76ers(22-16) would win their sixth straight after defeating San Antonio(15-23) 119-100 at Wells Fargo Center.
Embiid’s 30-point streak ranks second in the league this season to LeBron James(seven games).
In addition, Embiid joins Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Allen Iverson as the only 76ers to score at least 30 points in six straight games.
“There’s guys that trust me to make plays,” Embiid said postgame. “Like, I was telling them it’s not about scoring, it’s about making the right plays. These days teams don’t play man an; they play double. Stay aggressive, play double team and get shots off; you know I gotta get my guys open and make their job easier.”
The four-time All-Star is playing at an elite level, and before Friday’s win over San Antonio, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich showed Embiid some love.
“He’s obviously a wonderful player, and he’s playing some of his best basketball for sure,” Popovich said. “Everybody tries to guard him, front him, double team him, try to limit his catches, try not to foul him. All these kinds of things, but the game starts, and he scores 30 a night.
Embiid is getting it done for the 76ers, and after some COVID issues, which caused this team to struggle, Philadelphia is slowly climbing up the standings, and Embiid is the biggest reason.
Notes:
The 76ers saw three players with stat lines of at least 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists against San Antonio. Embiid(31 pointts, 12 rebounds, seven assists), Seth Curry(23 points, seven rebounds, seven assists), and Tobias Harris(23 points, seven rebounds, five assists).
Per Elias Sports Bureau, this is the first time since Jan. 18, 1991, where the 76ers had three players post such stat lines in the same game.
