Embiid dominates as Philadelphia rout Mavericks

LOS ANGELES: Joel Embiid outgunned Luka Doncic as the Philadelphia 76ers rolled to a 11395 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

Embiid poured in 36 points in another dominant display that included seven rebounds and two assists in just 26 minutes on court on Monday at Dallas’s American Airlines Centre.

The Cameroon international’s points tally included 14 of 15 free throw attempts as the Sixers improved to 37-17 at the top of the Eastern Conference standings.

Embiid was backed with 20 points off the bench from Furkan Korkmaz, while Shake Milton and Tobias Harris had 10 points apiece.

Mavs star Doncic, meanwhile, finished with 32 points, while Jalen Brunson had 15 points and Dorian Finney-Smith added 12.

The win was the perfect warm-up for the Sixers’ crunch clash against second-placed Brooklyn in Philadelphia today.

Elsewhere, Julius Randle scored 34 points as the New York Knicks routed the depleted Los Angeles Lakers 111-96.

The NBA champions coughed up 25 turnovers as the Knicks romped to victory, with Elfrid Payton adding 20 points and Derrick Rose 14.

Lakers coach Frank Vogel pointed the finger at his team’s wayward offensive display, which came just two days after a blowout victory against Brooklyn on Saturday.

“Really poor passing, some bad decisions,” Vogel said of the Lakers, who continue to feel the absence of injured stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

“As good as we were offensively two nights ago, we were just as bad tonight. It’s disappointing. Definitely not good enough on the offensive end.”

“Losing like this doesn’t feel good,” Vogel said. “All of our guys are eager to get back out there tomorrow.”