Embiid dominates as Sixers beat Clippers, Utah rallies without Mitchell
LOS ANGELES: Joel Embiid scored 36 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as the NBA East-leading Philadelphia 76ers snapped the Los Angeles Clippers' seven-game winning streak with a 106103 win on Friday.
Embiid became the first Philadelphia player since 2006 to score 35-plus points in three straight games as the Cameroonian center has carried the offensive load since returning to the starting lineup two weeks ago.
Over the past half dozen games Embiid is averaging over 30 points and nine-plus rebounds per game with his best performance coming Wednesday when he ran roughshod over the Brooklyn Nets for 39 points and 13 boards.
But it is in the last three that Embiid has really shined. The last Sixer to score more than 35 points in three straight contests was Allen Iverson in 2006.
Embiid heard muted chants of "MVP, MVP" on Friday from the crowd of 4,100 at the Wells Fargo Center, the number of spectators limited due to Covid-19 health restrictions in Philadelphia.
"I don't think teams really know what to do when guarding him," teammate Ben Simmons said of Embiid. "I think he's clearly the MVP this season. He's been so dominant. I don't know how to stop him."
Furkan Korkmaz finished with 18 points on fiveof-12 shooting from beyond the arc as Philadelphia snapped Los Angeles' seven-game win streak.
Simmons added 12 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and Danny Green had 11 points and seven assists in the win.
Paul George paced the Clippers with 37 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Kawhi Leonard missed his fourth straight game for the Clippers with a sore right foot.
"I thought we did a good job," Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. "Overall, I like the way we fought and competed."
Philadelphia roared out to a 20-3 lead in the first quarter, but the Clippers clawed their way back in the third to cut the margin to just three points with 2:50 left.
Los Angeles then took their first lead of the game in the fourth when Patrick Patterson nailed a three to make it 91-90.
But the 76ers dominated the game on the boards and in the paint and shooting guard Shake Milton drained a three pointer with 3:38 remaining to make it 97-94 as they never trailed again.
In Salt Lake City, Utah's two-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points before leaving with a sprained right ankle early in the third quarter, but the Jazz still stormed back to beat the Indiana Pacers 119-111.
Bojan Bogdanovic led the Jazz with 24 points, and Jordan Clarkson scored 18 as Utah won for the 13th time in 16 games.
Utah rallied for the win despite Mitchell leaving less than four minutes into the third quarter after landing awkwardly on this right foot while attempting to steal a pass. Mitchell walked gingerly to the dressing room with the help of some of his teammates.