On the 18th anniversary of Kobe Bryant's 81-point game, two of today's stars gave that iconic number a run for its money.
On Monday Night, Joel Embiid and the Philidelphia 76ers took on the San Antonio Spurs and rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama. And as Patrick Beverly has been calling it....it was "Belt 2 A$$".
The reigning MVP dominated the paint on a historic Monday night while leading the Philadelphia 76ers to a 133-123 win. Embiid posted a career-high 70 points, 18 rebounds and five assists while overwhelming whatever defense the Spurs dispatched. Embiid's scoring mark set a new 76ers team record, passing Wilt Chamberlain in the process. The Process, Trust It. He did so while shooting 24 of 41 from the field and 21 of 23 from the free throw line. He needed just one made 3-pointer on two attempts to reach the historic tally.
“From the time I started playing, Kobe was my guy,” Embiid said. “He’s the reason why I started playing basketball. It’s funny, on the same night, he got 81 and that was my favorite player.”
Victor Wembanyama, the 7-foot-3 Spurs rookie, had 33 points for San Antonio.....Embiid had 34, at halftime. Embiid had tied his career high of 59 points through three quarters and re-entered the contest with 6:38 left and Philadelphia ahead 118-104. With the record in sight, the 76ers were feeding him the ball at every opportunity.
The six-time All-Star and the league's reigning MVP, Embiid has scored at least 30 points in 21 consecutive games. The 76ers have won six in a row. A picture is really worth a thousand words.
While Embiid throttled the Spurs from inside the arc, Karl-Anthony Towns did it from all over en route to a Timberwolves franchise-record 62 points against the Hornets. Towns became the first player in NBA history to make 10 2-pointers, 10 3-pointers and 10 free throws in a game. Towns had 44 points by halftime, the most first-half points in the play-by-play era, which dates back to 1996-97.
Joel Embiid scored 70 in Philadelphia. Karl-Anthony Towns had 62 in Minnesota. The elite big men paired up to do something the NBA hadn’t seen on the same day in more than 45 years. So, mark it down: Jan. 22, 2024, was a day unlike almost any other in NBA history.
The Timberwolves fumbled away the game however, as they seemed to force feed KAT down the stretch seeing how far he could take the Franchise scoring record. Towns finished with 62 points, eight rebounds and two assists. He shot 21-of-35 from the field, and went 10-of-15 from the 3-point line and 10-of-14 the free throw line. He is the first player in league history to have at least 10 made 3-pointers, 2-pointers and free throws in the same game. He set a new franchise record for points scored in a half and field goals made.
“It was an absolute disgusting performance of defense and immature basketball all through the game,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. I don't like, I LOVE the T-Wolves head coach saying this post game after KAT's historic performance. Towns was slowing down and didn't play most of the 4th, in addition to his teammates just forcing the ball to him.
