The Philadelphia 76ers earned a 110-102 victory in Brooklyn to earn their 19th victory of the season. The Sixers improve to 19-16 overall and seem to be hitting their stride. Joel Embiid waved Kevin Durant off the court after hitting a big and one late in the game. This seemed to be in retaliation to what Kevin Durant did at the end of a December 16th Nets victory. All is fair in competitive basketball and neither player took it to heart. Embiid had high praise for Kevin Durant postgame.
“If there’s one player I think is probably talented or more talented than me, it’s definitely him,” Embiid said. “So I have a lot of respect for him. I admire his game. So we’re just competitive. Wins matter, every single one of them, and it’s always good to beat the best in the conference.”
Durant had mutual praise for Embiid postgame as well.
“If you’ve been watching Joel and I play against each other, it’s been like that every game, even the All-Star Game,” Durant said. “We just respect each other so much that that natural competitive fire I guess comes out. So it’s the name of the game.”
Joel Embiid scored 34 points on 11-for-23 shooting from the field. He knocked down 3-for-5 from behind the three-point stripe. Embiid also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out one assist on the night. He put a lot of pressure on the Nets’ defense all game. This strong play as of late has some putting Embiid in the NBA MVP Race. If he continues this hot play he will for sure have a legitimate shot.
More Sixers Contributions
- Tyrese Maxey scored 25 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out four assists.
- Seth Curry scored 17 points, grabbed three rebounds, and dished out six assists.
- Andre Drummond scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds off the bench.
The Sixers return home on Monday, 1/3 to face the Houston Rockets. Tip-off from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia is at 7 pm Eastern.
