PHILADELPHIA – Joel Embiid had 30 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to help the Philadelphia 76ers rout LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers 138-94 on Monday night.
The reigning NBA MVP, Embiid notched his sixth career triple-double with 2 minutes left in the third quarter. It was Embiid’s first of the season and his seventh career game with 10-plus assists.
Embiid’s anticipated showdown with James never really materialized. James scored 18 points in 29 minutes but nothing he did could make a dent in the 76ers’ lead. He has now played more minutes than any player in NBA history, with playoff time included.
Tyrese Maxey scored 31 points for the 76ers. Anthony Davis had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers.
Embiid sat out the entire fourth quarter and the 76ers still outscored the Lakers 40-14.
The 76ers opened the game 3-point happy and hit 13, a season high for a half, on 26 shots that let them stretch the lead to 25.
Maxey hit four. The Lakers, though, left any Sixer not named Maxey or Embiid open. Patrick Beverley hit three in the half and Marcus Morris Sr. went 3 for 3. Embiid buried one for a 64-39 lead.
The Lakers missed 7 of 10 3s in the half.
With Eagles QB Jalen Hurts watching courtside, Embiid blocked Davis with such authority the smack could be heard rows deep off the court.
Maxey scored 20 at the break as he tries to strengthen his bid for his first All-Star berth. Embiid had 17 as he makes a run at his third straight scoring title.
The 76ers put their 12th win away early.
They also scored points for trash talk when forward Paul Reed called Davis “a big flopper.”
“You know, he’s gonna be flailing,” Reed said at shootaround.
Both coaches were bemused at why a backup poked Davis.
“Go guard him, I guess. Best of luck, Paul,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said.
76ers coach Nick Nurse quipped, “I’m going to have go talk to Paul about that immediately after this.”
No matter. The game was never competitive enough to worry much about fouls and flops.
The 76ers won their second straight after a two-game losing streak and could have Kelly Oubre Jr. back soon. Oubre averaged 16.3 points in eight games before he was injured in an alleged hit-and-run accident. He participated in shootaround and may join the 76ers on their upcoming two-game road trip.
UP NEXT
Lakers: Have back-to-back road games Wednesday at Detroit and Thursday at Oklahoma City.
76ers: Hit the road for games Wednesday at New Orleans and Friday at Boston.
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