Joel Embiid scores season-high 50 points, 76ers beat Wizards, 131-126،
WASHINGTON — Joel Embiid scored a season-high 50 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to help the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Washington Wizards 131-126 on Wednesday night.
Embiid reached 50 points for the sixth time in his career. He made a career-high 59 on November 13, 2022 against Utah.
The reigning NBA MVP finished 19 of 24 from the field, hitting a 3-pointer on two attempts and hitting 11 of 13 free throws. He also had seven assists and six turnovers in just over 38 minutes after returning from a two-game absence due to illness.
“Sometimes your team needs you to be a playmaker, sometimes they need you to score and I felt like it was one of those nights where I had to be aggressive and make things happen,” said Embiid said. “But they made passes, they made the right plays every time and I just finished them.”
Tyrese Maxey added 26 points and also had seven assists.
“He should have been 60,” Maxey joked of Embiid’s night.
“It was more like 50,” teammate De’Anthony Melton added. “He would just go out there, effortlessly, shoot the ball and score.”
Jordan Poole led Washington with 23 points. Wizards are 3-17.
Trailing 99-95, the Wizards opened the fourth quarter with a 5-0 run to regain the advantage in a match featuring 22 changes and 13 ties. But after trailing 102-101 with 8:48 remaining, the 76ers pushed the advantage to eight and held on.
Washington cut it to 122-119 on Poole's 3-pointer with 2:17 left, but that was the closest the Wizards could get.
“Overall, I thought the overall effort and intent was better tonight. The defensive layout was much better,” Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “So you didn't make it , but I thought it was kind of a rebound for us.”
Embiid was technically ruled for hitting the ball after being called for traveling with 2:36 left in the third as Washington extended its lead to 95-89. But Embiid's frustration was a spark and Philadelphia ended the quarter 10-0.
“He's our safety valve — offensively and defensively. That's why he's the MVP,” Melton said. “He covers a lot of our mistakes defensively, and then offensively he can bail us out late and make some shots.”
Melton had 18 points for Philadelphia. Kyle Oubre Jr. returned after missing 11 games after being struck by a vehicle Nov. 11 during a hit-and-run in downtown Philadelphia. He scored 12 points in 19 minutes.
“I was a little worried about him,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said. “I was worried about him during the half, as to what type of rotation I was going to use with him in the second half, but his second half was incredible. I thought he was kind of a spark with a bunch of stuff, so really happy.”.
Tyus Jones had 20 points for Washington, Daniel Gafford added 18 and Kyle Kuzma and Corey Kispert each had 16.
