Sports
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ESPN News Services
Dec 22, 2023, 11:20 PM ET
PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid played through an ankle injury to push his 30-10 streak to 13 games, finishing with 31 points and 10 rebounds in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 121-111 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.
Embiid scored all 31 points after landing awkwardly trying to block a shot with 5:25 left in the first quarter.
The 30-10 streak is the longest in the NBA since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it for 16 straight games in 1971-72. Just two other players in league history have recorded 30 points and 10 rebounds in at least 13 straight — Elgin Baylor (15 straight in 1961-62) and Wilt Chamberlain (six different times).
Embiid also scored 30 points or more in 14 straight games, the most in the NBA since James Harden had a 32-game run in 2018-19.
Through the 25 games he’s played this season, the star big man has accumulated some gaudy numbers. Of note:
• He’s the first player to record 850 points, 250 rebounds and 150 assists through his first 25 games.
• He’s the first player to score 30-plus points in 20 of his first 25 games since Michael Jordan in 1986-87.
• He’s the fourth player to average 1 point per minute in at least 25 games in the shot-clock era, joining Chamberlain, Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Embiid had an early scare Friday. He briefly went to the locker room after scoring just two points in the first quarter but returned in the second and had 11 points at halftime.
“I saw that I wasn’t being aggressive,” Embiid said. “But then I let the game come to me. I didn’t force shots and in the third quarter I was able to get a few shots to go.”
The reigning NBA MVP was noticeably hobbling and winced periodically and favored his right leg, but it didn’t slow him in the second half. He also had nine assists and four blocks.
Embiid didn’t want to talk about his ankle after the game.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ll get it checked out. We’ll see.”
Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse confirmed that it was an ankle injury but didn’t offer much more.
“Obviously, he stayed in the game and it didn’t change his rotation at all,” Nurse said. “But he played through it and I’m pretty sure he’ll be sore tomorrow. We’ll have to monitor it over the next couple days before we get on the plane [to Miami].”
Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey each had 33 points, the second time in franchise history three players have scored 30-plus points in a game. The other was in 1961 when Dick Barnett, Hal Greer and Dolph Schayes did it for the Syracuse Nationals.
Harris scored 24 points in the first half. Maxey added 10 assists.
“Tobias has been around for a long time,” Maxey said. “He knows how to stay professional and stay ready. He did that tonight. He’s been huge. We appreciate him for that.”
Information from ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press was used in this report.
