Best and worst from Sixers-Pacers: Joel Embiid’s milestone, James Harden’s solid second half and more
The Sixers improved to 5-0 when scoring 130 points or more this season.
Here is my look at some of the best and worst performances from the 76ers’ 133-120 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center.
Best performance: This was an easy one with Joel Embiid finishing with game highs of 41 points and 20 rebounds to go with four assists, two steals and one block. The Sixers star shot 14-for-17 from the field (82.3%) and made 11 of 15 foul shots. Embiid is the fifth player in NBA history to score at least 40 points and 20 rebounds while shooting 80% or better from the field, joining John Drew and Hall of Famers Charles Barkley, Wilt Chamberlain and Bob Pettit.
Worst performance: This was a tough one. So tough that I thought about not having this award tonight. In the end, I gave it to Sixers reserve Furkan Korkmaz for being basically invisible during his 6 minutes, 6 seconds of action. He missed his lone shot attempt and failed to score another statistic while finishing a minus-2.
Best defensive performance: Danny Green gets this one. Making his second consecutive start, the Sixers swingman finished with a game-high three steals to go with one block. He was also a game-best plus-17 in 29 minutes.
» READ MORE: Sixers’ Joel Embiid is on the verge of history
Best statistic: The Sixers remain undefeated when scoring at least 130 points. They improved to 5-0 when reaching that point total since season.
Worst statistic: This goes to James Harden’s first-half shooting woes. The Sixers point guard missed six of his eight first-half shots, including all four of his three-pointers, while scoring 10 points.
Best bounce-back: Harden found his groove after intermission. He shot 5-for-8, including going 2-for-5 on threes, to score 12 points.
Best of the best: After scoring 41 points, Embiid all but locked up becoming the first center to win an NBA scoring title in 22 seasons. And the last center to average more than 30 points in a season was Hall of Famer Moses Malone, who averaged 31.1 points as a Houston Rockets while being named MVP during the 1981-82 season. Embiid averages a league-best 30.573 points.