PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid bent over at the 76ers’ free-throw line as “M-V-P!” chants rained down from the Wells Fargo Center stands.
The All-NBA big man has been serenaded with those three letters almost every home game in recent seasons. But they carried additional gravitas — and credibility — Sunday night.
Embiid amassed a stat line reserved solely for the NBA all-timers, racking up a career-high 59 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and seven blocks to propel the Sixers to a 105-98 victory.
It was a down-to-the-wire victory over the pesky Jazz, who were supposed to be “tanking” after trading All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert in the offseason but have instead been one of the league’s pleasant early surprises with a 10-4 record entering Sunday to sit atop the Western Conference.
And the win required an Embiid masterpiece, which occurred about 24 hours after he dropped 42 points in 40 minutes during Saturday’s victory over the Atlanta Hawks. He scored 26 of the Sixers’ 27 fourth-quarter points to fend off every Jazz push.
Embiid reached the career milestone during a two-minute stretch in the fourth quarter. He tied the score again at 94 with a turnaround jumper with less than six minutes to play, hit 50 on two free throws on the Sixers’ next possession and set his new career high with two free throws that gave the Sixers a 98-96 advantage with 4:17 remaining. His jumper with about a minute to play gave the Sixers a 103-98 lead to all but seal the victory, and he tried for 60 on a turnaround three-point attempt that bounced off the back of the rim with about 20 seconds left.
Embiid scored 13 first-quarter points, setting a strong tone for the second night in a row. He helped pull the Sixers out of a 14-point second-quarter hole, which his team fell into as he rested. He dropped in a game-tying shot through contact with about nine minutes to play, before swatting away a XXX shot and hitting a jumper to give the Sixers an 88-86 lead with less than nine minutes to play. He recorded his 10th rebound off a Tobias Harris miss at the rim (which he naturally followed). The only reason he never got to 10 assists was because he just kept scoring.
And now, Embiid can rest. The Sixers have a rare four days before their next game, a home contest against the Milwaukee Bucks, who boasted the NBA’s best record at 10-2 entering Sunday.
Bench woes
The good news for the Sixers: Embiid continues to be regaining his rhythm amid early-season health troubles. He played for the entire first quarter Sunday, making him the last starter to sub out of the game.
The bad news for the Sixers: They struggled mightily when Embiid was off the floor. Utah’s bench outscored the Sixers’ 45-18, highlighted by Malik Beasley’s 18 points, Collin Sexton’s 15 points and rookie Walker Kessler’s nine rebounds and three blocks. That mark was a particularly unsightly 31-8 at halftime.
Rivers continues to tinker with his rotation with James Harden out for at least a few more weeks with a foot injury.
Matisse Thybulle started for the second consecutive game. Danuel House Jr. was initially the first wing off the bench over De’Anthony Melton, who missed Saturday’s win over the Atlanta Hawks with back stiffness, before Melton re-entered before House in the second half. Embiid playing the entire first quarter meant an all-bench lineup of Mlton, Melton, House, Georges Niang and Paul Reed briefly began the second quarter, before starters Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris came back into the game.
The backup center pecking order also still appears to be uncertain again. Rivers briefly replaced Reed with Montrezl Harrell, who had not been in the rotation for the previous three games, before Embiid returned in the second quarter. Harrell was then Embiid’s replacement when he exited about midway through the third frame — and provided two rim-rocking dunks to even the score at 74 late in the quarter.
Harden back with team
After stepping away to attend to a personal matter for a few days, Harden has been back on the Sixers’ bench. Harden was walking in regular shoes, after Rivers said Harden was not supposed to put weight on his foot for approximately the first week of his recovery.
Harden has been an enthusiastic teammate, standing to clap as he encourages teammates. And Rivers hopes Harden, a perennial All-Star who was leading the NBA in assists before his injury, can still pass some of his observations onto his teammates on the floor.
“I have learned that, most of the time, [players] want to hear from the guys who are on the floor more,” Rivers said. “But James is a Hall of Fame basketball player, and you just hope if he sees something and he tells you, you would actually hear it and listen. …
“He’s really an astute thinker of the game, so he’s paying attention and watching — and if he says something, it’s probably true.”
Weird stats
The Sixers missed nine of their first 10 three-pointers, while the Jazz missed eight of their first 11 free throws. The Sixers ended the night 4-of-23 from deep, while the Jazz went 13-of-23 from the free-throw line.
