Joel Embiid, ultra-dominant with 43 points, was predominant in Philadelphia's success (121-106) against Chicago on Monday in the NBA.
Facing the Bulls, the Cameroonian pivot candidate for the MVP trophy, managed for the tenth time this season a “combo” with at least 40 points and 10 rebounds (14 exactly, to which he added 3 blocks and 2 steals).
He has 18 games left to repeat this performance three times and break the record of Moses Malone, former glory of Philly in 1981-1982, and Russell Westbrook, when he played for the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016-2017, both having been named best player of these seasons.
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Embiid was supported by James Harden (16 pts, 14 assists, 8 rebounds), with whom the complementarity seems natural, and Tyrese Maxey (17 pts) who is increasingly establishing himself as a formidable third offensive weapon.
The Bulls, still 4th in the East, but in a delicate pass, could not avoid a fifth defeat in a row, despite Zach LaVine (24 pts) and DeMar DeRozan (23 pts, 11 rebounds, 8 assists).
The 76ers remain 2nd behind the Heat, which also won an 8th victory in ten games, at the expense of the Rockets (123-106), thanks to Tyler Herro (31 pts at 6/9 behind the arc).
Eleven months after his last game, Victor Oladipo, finally rid of a big injury to a quadriceps, took the opportunity to make a winning comeback (11 pts, 4 assists in fifteen minutes).
Note the third consecutive victory of the poorly ranked Detroit (14th) against Atlanta (10th), after overtime (113-110), Killian Hayes contributing off the bench (13 pts, 6 assists).
Between Gobert and Doncic, it's hot
In the West, Golden State, deprived of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins, put to rest, resisted Denver for a long time, until Nikola Jokic decided otherwise.
The Serb, who dearly defends his MVP title, achieved his 18th triple-double of the season (32 pts, 12/17 on shots, 15 rebounds, 13 assists) to offer the Nuggets (6th) a ninth victory in ten encounters (131-124).
Beaten for the 5th time in a row, the Warriors still give up their 2nd place to Memphis.
Dallas (5th), for its part, was also able to count on a new demonstration from Luka Doncic, to overcome (111-103) Utah (4th).
The Slovenian prodigy, who scored 35 points (16 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals), crossed paths with Rudy Gobert twice (12 pts, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks) and tempers flared.
First at the end of the first period, when he wanted to attack the Frenchman who threw the ball at him, when he claimed a foul, after a missed shot at the buzzer.
Then, in the 3rd quarter, when Gobert, who had just taken a technical foul, tripped Doncic, the latter claiming the exclusion of his vis-à-vis the referees, who finally considered that the contact was accidental .
“Pop record”
Finally, in San Antonio, the Spurs (12th) beat the Lakers (117-110), giving Gregg Popovich the 1,335th victory of his career in the regular season, equaling the record of Don Nelson, for whom he was assistant. thirty years ago.
"Pop" can become the most successful coach in history, as of Wednesday against Toronto.
In the meantime, his players, Dejounte Murray in the lead (26 pts, 10 rebounds) took advantage of the absence of LeBron James (knee) to bring LA back to its harsh reality of the moment (eight losses in ten matches), symbolized by a fragile 9th place synonymous with dams for the play-offs.
