Embiid leads NBA in 3-point percentage

Joel Embiid said it had only been five games. So in the 76ers center's mind, his impressive feat didn't matter.

But that's debatable, considering that he has accomplished something that's not expected from a center.

The rookie led the NBA in three-point percentage heading into Monday night's matchup with the Utah Jazz at the Wells Fargo Center. The 7-foot-2, 276-pounder was shooting 66.7 percent while making 6 of 9 threes.

"If they leave me open, I'm going to shoot it," Embiid said before the game.

His best three-point performance came Saturday night when he made all four attempts in a 102-101 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Embiid joined the late Manute Bol as the only Sixers centers to make four threes in a game dating back to at least the 1983-84 season. Bol made 6 of 12 three-pointers on March 3, 1993.

"I just feel like it's one other layer to what we are all seeing to be [one of the] pretty significant ways that Joel can score," coach Brett Brown said.

Brown added that Embiid's three-point touch opens up the possibility of his being paired with center Jahlil Okafor. His ability to shoot from the outside affords Okafor space when he stretches the floor.

It's still early, but Ersan Ilyasova could have a career season with the Sixers.

The team acquired the reserve power forward in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday. He averaged 17.5 points in his two games as a Sixer heading into Monday's game.

As a result, he was averaging 10 points through five combined games with the Thunder and Sixers. That average will go up for the 6-foot-10, 235-pounder if he continues to produce at a high level in Philadelphia. He will get plenty of opportunities to do so - unlike in Oklahoma City.

Ilyasova averaged a career-best 13.2 points during the 2012-13 season with the Milwaukee Bucks.