Simmons, Embiid lead 76ers to romp over Pistons
PHILADELPHIA — Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid almost outproduced Detroit in the first half and sparked the 76ers to a mammoth lead even they couldn’t blow in a 114-78 romp over the Pistons on Friday night.
Embiid had 23 points and nine rebounds. Simmons had 19 points and nine assists to lead the Sixers to their fourth straight win, which moved them back to .500.
With 2 minutes left in the first half, Embiid and Simmons had combined for 26 points on 12-of-19 shooting. The Pistons had 26 points on 11-of-38 shooting.
The 76ers have a bad habit of blowing doubledigit leads that crushed their push toward a more respectable spot in the standings. They wasted an 18-point lead in a loss to Portland. The Sixers turned a 22-point edge into a loss against Toronto. And they led by 16 points before Sacramento beat them.
The Sixers opened the game on a 15-2 run and, unlike their December collapses, they never let this one get close. They led 97-61 through three.
Embiid waved his arms toward fans as they chanted “Trust the Process!” a motto that surely had to grate at Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy. Gundy was one of the more vocal critics of Philadelphia’s maligned rebuild and said in 2014 the strategy was “embarrassing.”
“If you’re putting that roster on the floor, you’re doing everything you can possibly do to try to lose,” Van Gundy said.
True. And that was the point of the method to tank seasons. While the Sixers have mostly collected duds in the first round of the draft (Jahlil Okafor, Michael Carter-Williams, Nerlens Noel) under their plan, Embiid and Simmons are the Powerball payoff for the franchise.
The 76ers sell “Ben & Jo” shirts as part of the promotional push to earn them each their first All-Star berths. Simmons — who has no jump shot — backed defenders in the paint and spun around them for easy buckets. Embiid plowed his way to the rim and even buried a 3 in the second half.
Marcus Smart scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half, Kyrie Irving had 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists and Boston pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Minnesota at home. Terry Rozier had 14 points and nine rebounds, Aron Baynes had 11 points and 10 rebounds and Jaylen Brown also scored 11 for Boston, which has won five straight and six of seven. Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 25 points and a career-high 23 rebounds. Jimmy Butler scored 14, Jamal Crawford had 13 points and Andrew Wiggins scored 10 for Minnesota, which lost backto-back games for the first time since November. Jonas Valanciunas scored all of his 20 points in the decisive third quarter and Toronto beat Milwaukee on the road. Toronto outscored Milwaukee 43-19 in the third quarter to win its fourth consecutive game, including a 131-127 overtime victory over the Bucks on Monday. The Raptors have won 10 of 12. Valanciunas picked up two fouls in the first 86 seconds of the game and was held scoreless without taking a shot in just five minutes during the first half. Wayne Ellington scored 24 points, Goran Dragic added 19 and the Miami Heat survived a back-and-forth flurry in the final minutes to beat the New York Knicks. Josh Richardson scored 18 and Tyler Johnson added 16 for Miami, which went 19 for 20 from the foul line — 13 for 13 after halftime. The Heat set a franchise record by taking 42 3-pointers, and Ellington had another team all-time mark by attempting 16.
Kawhi Leonard and Manu Ginobili each scored 21 points and the San Antonio Spurs beat Phoenix for their ninth straight win at home over the Suns. Ginobili joined Vince Carter as the only 40-year-old players to score 20 points off the bench. He shot 7 for 10 from the field in setting a season high for points. The Spurs were without starters LaMarcus Aldridge, who sat out for rest, and an injured Danny Green, but had 15 steals and six blocks against the Suns while shooting 47 percent. Devin Booker had 21 points and Marquese Chriss added 12 for Phoenix.