NBA Wrap: 76ers win ‘wild’ Wizards shootout after 60-point night; Veteran’s explosion not enough

The Philadelphia 76ers and Washington Wizards have put on a show in their NBA clash but not even a franchise record was enough for a win.

It was Embiid’s night.

It’s not often in the NBA when a player can explode with 60 points in a brilliant individual performance — and even rarer when it’s not enough to win the game.

That happened in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 141-136 win over the Washington Wizards as Bradley Beal hit exactly 60 but still lost the game.

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The individual performance saw Beal tie Gilbert Arenas’ franchise record set on December 17 2006 while the move to give Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons perimeter shooters has paid off.

Danny Green hit five from eight from three point range and Embiid and Tobias Harris hit three each, but Seth Curry hit six from seven as the 76ers shot 62.1 per cent from outside the arc.

But it was Beal’s game as he piled on 57 points in the first three quarters.

Matisse Thybulle was on the star as he was restricted to just three points in the fourth quarter and came up with a key stop.

Despite Ben Simmons being seen as a potential Defensive Player of the Year candidate, he stayed on Russell Westbrook with Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers said Simmons was doing what he needed to do.

“I guess after 60 we probably could’ve made the change,” he said. “We liked what Ben was able to do as a roamer with Westbrook. We thought he could get a lot of easy baskets.”

Bradley Beal was on fire.

Westbrook even left the game with 26 seconds left with the Wizards new star reportedly dislocating his finger.

Philadelphia led 82-67 at the main break it appeared as though former NBA star Kendrick Perkins could have jinxed the side when he tweeted at halftime as the Wizards came back to pull level at 131-all with four minutes left.

Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid are working out just fine to me...right now they are the BEST TEAM in the Conference. They have all the pieces to come outta of the East and they are playing inspiring basketball.

— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) January 7, 2021

The Wizards were 21 points down at one point.

The Sixers - Wizards game is WILD!!! The Sixers had a 21-point lead. It's now tied with 4:00 to play.#Sixers#HereTheyCome

— Ducis Rodgers (@duciswild) January 7, 2021

But after that, Embiid hit eight straight points to close it out.

“They pay me to take over the game,” Embiid said. “They pay me to dominate. That’s my job.

“I always give credit to my teammates. [But] I finished.”

Embiid finished with 38 points, eight rebounds, five assists three steals and three blocks, while Simmons had 17 points, 12 assists and six rebounds, as well as two steals.

Ben Simmons competes with Deni Avdija for a rebound.

Despite his game, Beal was frustrated by the loss.

“I’m pissed off,” Beal said. “I’m mad. I don’t count (them) … Any of my career highs, they’ve been in losses. So I don’t give a damn. You can throw it right out the window with the other two or three I’ve had.

“I just want to win. Sometimes you might be able to score 40, 50, 60, whatever the case may be, but I just want to win, whatever that looks like. We came up a little bit short tonight.”

KIWI’S STATEMENT NOT ENOUGH

Steven Adams went big against his former team but suffered a one-point loss.

The Oklahoma City Thunder got the better of Steven Adams and the New Orleans Pelicans this afternoon, but the Kiwi big man had a silver lining in the form of a career-first achievement.

Adams finished the 111-110 loss with a triple-double, scoring 10 points to go with 11 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists. Coming into the game, Adams’ career high in assists was six – a number he set while playing for Oklahoma City last season.

Steven Adams triple-double alert!!

10 PTS | 11 REB | Career-high 10 AST pic.twitter.com/dh6umwzUNp

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) January 7, 2021

It’s the latest in a string of strong performances for Adams since joining the Pelicans this year.

While the season is only eight games deep, Adams has made his mark on his new team across the floor, shooting at a career-best 65 per cent success rate from the field.

Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy said it wasn’t hard to see how much of a difference the 27-year-old is making on the team.

“If you look at our on-court and off-court numbers and our plus-minus, he’s been carrying us all year,” Van Gundy said.

“If Steven’s on the court we’re a really good team; if Steven’s off the court, we’re not. It’s because the guy plays [hard] every possession, and that’s what we need to get everybody doing.”

— New Zealand Herald

Originally published as NBA Wrap: 76ers win ‘wild’ Wizards shootout after 60-point night; Veteran’s explosion not enough