Sixers grades: Joel Embiid makes history in first matchup with Victor Wembanyama

The 76ers defeated the San Antonio Spurs, 133-123, on Monday at the Wells Fargo Center. Here are my grades from the game:

Joel Embiid looked small for perhaps the first time of his NBA career. Missing his first shot attempt, it initially looked like Victor Wembanyama’s 8-foot wingspan would create some problems. But Embiid found a way to get to the floor line and scored on an array of jumpers to set the tempo. The reigning MVP finished with 24 points on 8-for-12 shooting while making all eight of his free throws in the first quarter. And he was just getting started, finishing with a franchise-record 70 points on 24-of-41 shooting and 21-of-23 from the free throw line.

Paul Reed was extremely active, grabbing six rebounds and scoring four points during his first 4-minute, 38-second stretch off the bench.

Tobias Harris is attacking the basket perhaps more than any other time as a Sixer. This was another game in which he showed he can be the third star the team will need in the postseason.

Nico Batum made a lot of great reads with his passing and knocked down a three-pointer. Batum, who’s playing through illness, continues to excel at doing all of the little things.

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KJ Martin’s athleticism was on full display. He had four points, two rebounds and one assist.

Danuel House Jr. had six points and two rebounds as the sixth man. However, most of his job was to spread the floor and bring energy.

Tyrese Maxey picked up the slack offensively when Embiid was off the floor. The Spurs don’t have a great perimeter defender, and Maxey took full advantage of that. He got to the paint and did whatever he wanted.

Kelly Oubre was forcing a lot of things. There were times when Embiid was asking for the ball, but the shooting guard kept forcing stuff. He was solid defensively.

Furkan Korkmaz struggled. The seldom-used swingman was a liability on defense. He did have a block that was negated due to his grabbing on the Spurs player’s jersey. Offensively, he was non-existent.