Washington, Jan. 28 (BNA): Joel Embiid scored 26 points and nine rebounds to lead Philadelphia 76 to a 105-87 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, who were playing without LeBron James on Thursday evening.
Anthony Davis scored 31 points and 12 rebounds for the Lakers.
The 37-year-old James suffers from pain in his left knee day in and day out. James is second in the league scoring 29.1 points per game, at his highest pace since the 2009-10 season, and has scored at least 25 points in 18 consecutive games, according to The Associated Press.
With James absent, Davis kept the Lakers competitive in their second game after losing 17 due to a left knee sprain. He injured his right wrist in the first half and needed a quick trip to the locker room to be scored.
Davis went 10 of 13 in the first inning — the Lakers made 20 buckets — for 23 points. He even blocked Embiid’s jacket, then went straight down and hit one above the All-Star Center. Davis drew a foul against Embiid in the play.
Despite this, Davis couldn’t stand the Lakers alone and the Lakers seemed lost at times without him. Russell Westbrook converted the ball late in the first half when nobody’s pass seemed to go out of bounds. He hits a roll of duct tape on the jamb of the TV equipment.
Davis sank late in the third inning to keep the Lakers within nine, then hit a twisting block on the baseline for another Embiid shot, and Davis did his turn to neutralize Embiid. He didn’t get close to much of the others.
Embiid, the first Sixer to have voted Novices in at least five consecutive All-Star games since Hall of Famer Allen Iverson, had a good night for the Sixers.
His four-game winning streak ended with at least 35 points and 10 rebounds. Embiid and Davis are two of only four players to have achieved those marks since the 1976-1977 merger. The durability issues that have overshadowed his career this season have been eliminated: Embiid played his 20th straight game.
Tobias Harris scored 23 points for the Sixers, while Ty Maxi scored 14 points and made 10 assists.
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