Joel Embiid’s milestone, Matisse Thybulle’s thievery, and the Sixers’ taking care of the ball | Best-Worst

This is what you call a quality victory.

On Wednesday, the 76ers defeated the Boston Celtics, 117-109, at the Wells Fargo Center. It was their first victory over a team that currently has a winning record (Boston is 8-5). And it elevated the Sixers (10-5) to first place in the Eastern Conference. Here are some of the best and worst performances:

Of course this goes to Joel Embiid ... again.

He had a game high of 42 points to go with 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block two games after finishing with 45 points and 16 rebounds. Embiid joined Washington Wizards standout Bradley Beal as the only players with multiple 40-point performances this season. Embiid is the only player with multiple 40-and-10 games. On Wednesday, he was unstoppable from the start, scoring 12 first-quarter points. But his best quarter came in the third, as he scored 14 on 5-for-7 shooting. Embiid got a chunk of his points from the foul line, making 17 of 21 free throws.

This is a tough one, but I had to give it this to Tyrese Maxey. The rookie combo guard failed to score a point for the second time this season. This one came after he averaged 18.3 points in his previous six games. But on this night, Maxey missed all four of his shots in 20 minutes, 34 seconds. He also had some struggles on the defensive end. Maxey did not play in the fourth quarter.

Matisse Thybulle gets this one. The Sixers’ second-year guard is starting to play like the ball hawk we were accustomed to seeing last season. Thybulle finished with four steals and one block for the second time in three games.

I had to give this to the Celtics’ foul shooting. They made just 13 of 20.

This goes to the Sixers’ turnovers. They tied a season low with nine. That’s a great thing for a team averaging the league’s third-most turnovers (15.9). The Sixers had committed 22 turnovers Saturday against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Embiid tied Hall of Famer Billy Cunningham for the third-most 40-point, 10-rebound performances in team history with 10. Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain (31) and Charles Barkley (13) are the only Sixers with more.