Joel Embiid scores season-high 50 points, 76ers beat Wizards 131-126
WASHINGTON (AP) Joel Embiid scored a season-high 50 points and had 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 had a career-best 59 on Nov. 13, 2022, against Utah.
The reigning NBA MVP was 19 of 24 from the field, making a 3-pointer on two attempts, and hit 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 with an 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 get it going,” Embiid said. “But they made passes, they made the right plays every single time and I just finished them.”
Tyrese Maxey added 26 points and also had seven assists.
“He should have had 60,” Maxey joked about Embiid’s night.
“It was quite 50,” teammate De’Anthony Melton added. “He was just going out there effortlessly shooting the ball and scoring.”
Jordan Poole led Washington with 23 points. The Wizards are 3-17.
Trailing 99-95, the Wizards opened the fourth quarter with a 5-0 run to retake the lead in a game that featured 22 changes and 13 ties. But after leading 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 remaining, but it was the closest the Wizards would get.
“In general, I thought the effort, the overall intent was better tonight. The defensive disposition was much better,” Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “So you come up short, but I thought that was somewhat of a bounce-back for us.”
Embiid was assessed a technical for slamming the ball down after being called for traveling with 2:36 remaining in the third as Washington extended its lead to 95-89. But Embiid’s frustration was a spark, and Philadelphia ended the quarter on a 10-0 run.
“He’s our safety valve – offensively, defensively. That’s why he’s the MVP,” Melton said. “He covers up for 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 on Nov. 11 in a hit-and-run incident in downtown Philadelphia. He had 12 points in 19 minutes.
“I was worried about him a little bit,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said. “I was worried about him in the half about what kind of rotation I was going to use with him in the second half, but his second half was amazing. I thought he was kind of the 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.
UP NEXT
76ers: Host Atlanta on Friday night.
Wizards: At Brooklyn on Friday night.
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 |  | Joel Embiid vs. Daniel Gafford (Tyrese Maxey gains possession) | ||
| 11:47 |  | +2 | Joel Embiid makes two point layup (Nicolas Batum assists) | 2-0 |
| 11:26 | | Kyle Kuzma misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 11:22 | | Tyrese Maxey defensive rebound | ||
| 11:08 | | +2 | Joel Embiid makes two point driving reverse layup | 4-0 |
| 10:59 | | Kyle Kuzma misses two point driving layup | ||
| 10:58 | | Daniel Gafford offensive rebound | ||
| 10:58 | | +2 | Daniel Gafford makes two point putback dunk | 4-2 |
| 10:47 | | Daniel Gafford blocks Joel Embiid's two point driving layup | ||
| 10:47 | | 76ers offensive rebound | ||
| 10:39 | | +2 | Joel Embiid makes two point cutting layup (Tobias Harris assists) | 6-2 |
| 10:27 | | Tyus Jones misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 10:24 | | Nicolas Batum defensive rebound | ||
| 10:19 | | Tyrese Maxey misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 10:16 | | Daniel Gafford defensive rebound | ||
| 10:08 | | +2 | Daniel Gafford makes two point jump shot (Deni Avdija assists) | 6-4 |
| 9:51 | | +2 | Tobias Harris makes two point jump shot | 8-4 |
| 9:27 | | +2 | Jordan Poole makes two point driving layup (Tyus Jones assists) | 8-6 |
| 9:12 | | De'Anthony Melton misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:09 | | Tobias Harris offensive rebound | ||
| 9:07 | | Tobias Harris misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:04 | | Kyle Kuzma defensive rebound | ||
| 8:44 | | +2 | Daniel Gafford makes two point layup (Deni Avdija assists) | 8-8 |
| 8:30 | | +2 | Joel Embiid makes two point driving finger roll layup (Tyrese Maxey assists) | 10-8 |
| 8:17 | | +2 | Jordan Poole makes two point pullup jump shot (Deni Avdija assists) | 10-10 |
| 8:06 | | Tyus Jones blocks Tyrese Maxey's two point driving layup | ||
| 8:03 | | Jordan Poole defensive rebound | ||
| 8:01 | | +2 | Kyle Kuzma makes two point running dunk (Jordan Poole assists) | 10-12 |
| 7:52 | | Daniel Gafford shooting foul (Joel Embiid draws the foul) | ||
| 7:52 | | Joel Embiid misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 7:52 | | 76ers offensive rebound | ||
| 7:52 | | +1 | Joel Embiid makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 11-12 |
| 7:41 | | Jordan Poole misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 7:38 | | Tobias Harris defensive rebound | ||
| 7:18 | | Nicolas Batum misses three point jump shot | ||
| 7:12 | | Joel Embiid offensive rebound | ||
| 7:12 | | Joel Embiid misses two point tip layup | ||
| 7:11 | | Tyus Jones defensive rebound | ||
| 7:09 | | Kyle Kuzma misses two point turnaround bank jump shot | ||
| 7:06 | | Nicolas Batum defensive rebound | ||
| 7:02 | | +2 | Tyrese Maxey makes two point running layup | 13-12 |
| 6:48 | | Jordan Poole misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 6:48 | | Tobias Harris defensive rebound | ||
| 6:35 | | De'Anthony Melton misses three point jump shot | ||
| 6:33 | | Danilo Gallinari defensive rebound | ||
| 6:15 | | Deni Avdija misses three point jump shot | ||
| 6:11 | | Nicolas Batum defensive rebound | ||
| 6:05 | | Joel Embiid misses three point jump shot | ||
| 6:02 | | Danilo Gallinari defensive rebound | ||
| 5:59 | | Tyus Jones misses three point running pullup jump shot | ||
| 5:55 | | De'Anthony Melton defensive rebound | ||
| 5:37 | | Tyrese Maxey misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:37 | | Nicolas Batum offensive rebound | ||
| 5:32 | | Tyrese Maxey misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 5:30 | | Kyle Kuzma defensive rebound | ||
| 5:30 | | +2 | Kyle Kuzma makes two point running layup | 13-14 |
| 5:30 | | 76ers 60 second timeout | ||
| 5:30 | | 76ers delay of game violation | ||
| 5:08 | | +2 | Joel Embiid makes two point jump shot (Nicolas Batum assists) | 15-14 |
| 4:43 | | +3 | Tyus Jones makes three point jump shot (Kyle Kuzma assists) | 15-17 |
| 4:26 | | +2 | Tyrese Maxey makes two point driving floating bank jump shot | 17-17 |
| 4:09 | | +2 | Bilal Coulibaly makes two point driving layup (Danilo Gallinari assists) | 17-19 |
| 3:53 | | Tobias Harris misses two point driving layup | ||
| 3:48 | | Joel Embiid offensive rebound | ||
| 3:48 | | +2 | Joel Embiid makes two point tip layup | 19-19 |
| 3:26 | | Danilo Gallinari misses two point turnaround jump shot | ||
| 3:24 | | Joel Embiid defensive rebound | ||
| 3:24 | | Joel Embiid turnover (lost ball) (Bilal Coulibaly steals) | ||
| 3:22 | | +2 | Bilal Coulibaly makes two point driving dunk | 19-21 |
| 3:07 | | +2 | Joel Embiid makes two point driving layup (De'Anthony Melton assists) | 21-21 |
| 2:51 | | Kyle Kuzma misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:48 | | Joel Embiid defensive rebound | ||
| 2:41 | | Nicolas Batum misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:38 | | Tyus Jones defensive rebound | ||
| 2:23 | | Bilal Coulibaly misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:20 | | De'Anthony Melton defensive rebound | ||
| 2:15 | | Danilo Gallinari shooting foul (Tyrese Maxey draws the foul) | ||
| 2:15 | | Wizards 60 second timeout | ||
| 2:15 | | +1 | Tyrese Maxey makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 22-21 |
| 2:15 | | +1 | Tyrese Maxey makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 23-21 |
| 2:02 | | Jared Butler misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 1:59 | | Patrick Beverley defensive rebound | ||
| 1:53 | | Patrick Beverley misses three point jump shot | ||
| 1:49 | | Danilo Gallinari defensive rebound | ||
| 1:46 | | +2 | Deni Avdija makes two point running finger roll layup | 23-23 |
| 1:25 | | Tyrese Maxey misses three point jump shot | ||
| 1:22 | | Corey Kispert defensive rebound | ||
| 1:16 | | Danilo Gallinari misses three point jump shot | ||
| 1:15 | | Patrick Beverley turnover (bad pass) (Danilo Gallinari steals) | ||
| 1:15 | | Patrick Beverley defensive rebound | ||
| 1:09 | | Danilo Gallinari misses three point jump shot | ||
| 1:07 | | Joel Embiid defensive rebound | ||
| 0:55 | | +2 | Kelly Oubre Jr. makes two point cutting dunk (Tyrese Maxey assists) | 25-23 |
| 0:44 | | +2 | Bilal Coulibaly makes two point driving layup (Danilo Gallinari assists) | 25-25 |
| 0:44 | | Kelly Oubre Jr. shooting foul (Bilal Coulibaly draws the foul) | ||
| 0:44 | | +1 | Bilal Coulibaly makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 25-26 |
| 0:37 | | Jared Butler personal foul (Patrick Beverley draws the foul) | ||
| 0:35 | | Patrick Beverley misses three point jump shot | ||
| 0:31 | | Bilal Coulibaly defensive rebound | ||
| 0:15 | | +3 | Danilo Gallinari makes three point jump shot (Jared Butler assists) | 25-29 |
| 0:00 | | Tyrese Maxey misses two point floating jump shot | ||
| 0:00 | | 76ers offensive rebound | ||
| 0:00 | | End of period |
| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:44 | | +2 | Deni Avdija makes two point driving finger roll layup (Bilal Coulibaly assists) | 25-31 |
| 11:27 | | Paul Reed misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:24 | | Deni Avdija defensive rebound | ||
| 11:16 | | Mike Muscala misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:12 | | Kelly Oubre Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 11:07 | | Kelly Oubre Jr. turnover (traveling) | ||
| 10:53 | | Robert Covington personal foul (Deni Avdija draws the foul) | ||
| 10:42 | | +2 | Mike Muscala makes two point cutting dunk (Jared Butler assists) | 25-33 |
| 10:29 | | Patrick Beverley turnover (bad pass) (Bilal Coulibaly steals) | ||
| 10:22 | | +2 | Bilal Coulibaly makes two point running dunk | 25-35 |
| 10:05 | | +2 | Patrick Beverley makes two point driving hook shot | 27-35 |
| 9:49 | | Bilal Coulibaly misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:45 | | Robert Covington defensive rebound | ||
| 9:29 | | Jared Butler shooting foul (Marcus Morris Sr. draws the foul) | ||
| 9:29 | | +1 | Marcus Morris Sr. makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 28-35 |
| 9:29 | | +1 | Marcus Morris Sr. makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 29-35 |
| 9:19 | | Bilal Coulibaly turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 9:10 | | Robert Covington turnover (lost ball) (Bilal Coulibaly steals) | ||
| 9:05 | | +3 | Corey Kispert makes three point running jump shot (Deni Avdija assists) | 29-38 |
| 8:36 | | +2 | Marcus Morris Sr. makes two point pullup jump shot (De'Anthony Melton assists) | 31-38 |
| 8:14 | | +2 | Mike Muscala makes two point floating jump shot (Jared Butler assists) | 31-40 |
| 8:00 | | Deni Avdija shooting foul (De'Anthony Melton draws the foul) | ||
| 8:00 | | +1 | De'Anthony Melton makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 32-40 |
| 8:00 | | +1 | De'Anthony Melton makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 33-40 |
| 7:47 | | Corey Kispert turnover (lost ball) (Tobias Harris steals) | ||
| 7:35 | | Marcus Morris Sr. misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 7:32 | | Deni Avdija defensive rebound | ||
| 7:29 | | +3 | Corey Kispert makes three point running jump shot (Deni Avdija assists) | 33-43 |
| 7:04 | | De'Anthony Melton misses two point fadeaway jump shot | ||
| 7:00 | | Deni Avdija defensive rebound | ||
| 6:50 | | Deni Avdija misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 6:48 | | Tobias Harris defensive rebound | ||
| 6:39 | | +2 | De'Anthony Melton makes two point bank jump shot | 35-43 |
| 6:39 | | Jared Butler shooting foul (De'Anthony Melton draws the foul) | ||
| 6:39 | | Wizards 60 second timeout | ||
| 6:39 | | +1 | De'Anthony Melton makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 36-43 |
| 6:24 | | +3 | Corey Kispert makes three point jump shot (Tyus Jones assists) | 36-46 |
| 6:04 | | Joel Embiid turnover (bad pass) (Corey Kispert steals) | ||
| 6:02 | | De'Anthony Melton personal foul (Corey Kispert draws the foul) | ||
| 5:49 | | Kyle Kuzma misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 5:45 | | De'Anthony Melton defensive rebound | ||
| 5:38 | | +3 | De'Anthony Melton makes three point jump shot (Joel Embiid assists) | 39-46 |
| 5:24 | | +2 | Jordan Poole makes two point driving floating jump shot (Daniel Gafford assists) | 39-48 |
| 5:08 | | Kyle Kuzma shooting foul (Nicolas Batum draws the foul) | ||
| 5:08 | | Nicolas Batum misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 5:08 | | 76ers offensive rebound | ||
| 5:08 | | +1 | Nicolas Batum makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 40-48 |
| 4:52 | | +2 | Kyle Kuzma makes two point floating jump shot (Tyus Jones assists) | 40-50 |
| 4:41 | | +2 | De'Anthony Melton makes two point driving reverse layup | 42-50 |
| 4:31 | | Jordan Poole misses two point driving layup | ||
| 4:31 | | 76ers defensive rebound | ||
| 4:31 | | Wizards delay of game violation | ||
| 4:18 | | +2 | Joel Embiid makes two point pullup jump shot | 44-50 |
| 4:00 | | Joel Embiid blocks Kyle Kuzma's two point driving layup | ||
| 3:56 | | Nicolas Batum defensive rebound | ||
| 3:53 | | Daniel Gafford shooting foul (Joel Embiid draws the foul) | ||
| 3:53 |