Embiid, Harden lead 76ers over Mavericks
CLEVELAND — Joel Embiid scored 32 points, James Harden had 24 points and 13 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Dallas Mavericks 111-101 on Friday night.
Embiid was 11 of 20 from the floor. Harden also had seven rebounds. Tobias Harris added 14 points, Georges Niang had 12 and Matisse Thybulle 10.
Jalen Brunson, the former Villanova star who played a good portion of his college home games at the Wells Fargo Center, hit his first seven shots and led Dallas with 24 points. He finished 10 of 14.
Luka Doncic had 17 points and 10 assists, but was held to 5-for20 shooting from the floor and 2-for-10 from beyond the 3-point line. Dwight Powell added 14 points, and Spencer Dinwiddie had 12.
Embiid scored 21 points in the first half, capping a run with fadeaway three-point at the conclusion of the shot clock to give Philadelphia a 58-53 lead at half. He was scored 30 or more points in 33 of 57 games this season.
With Embiid on the bench to start the fourth quarter, Harden and the backup gave Philadelphia separation. Harden either scored or assisted on 15 straight 76ers points en route to a 99-80 lead.
Embiid has been active for 19th straight games, the third-longest, regular-season active stretch of his career, trailing only a 21 game streak earlier in the season and a 26 game opening to the 2018-19 campaign. He has played in 48 of Philadelphia’s past 50 games since returning from a ninegame absence because of the league’s health and safety protocols back in November.
Up next
Mavericks: At Charlotte on Saturday night to wrap up a six-game trip.
76ers: Host Toronto on Sunday night.