Joel Embiid scores 70 and Karl-Anthony Towns drops 62 in a night like few others around league
Joel Embiid scored 70 in Philadelphia. Karl-Anthony Towns had 62 in Minnesota. The elite big men paired up to do something the NBA hadn’t seen on the same day in more than 45 years.
So, mark it down: Jan. 22, 2024, was a day unlike almost any other in NBA history.
On the 18th anniversary of Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game for the Los Angeles Lakers — the second-best scoring game in NBA history — Embiid and Towns put on a pair of dazzling, historic scoring shows of their own with a pair of career-high, franchise-record efforts.
“From the time I started
playing, Kobe was my guy,” Embiid said. “He’s the reason why I started playing basketball. It’s funny, on the same night, he got 81 and that was my favorite player.”
Embiid’s 70 points set the 76ers record in Philadelphia’s 133-123 win over San Antonio. Towns scored 62 points — two more than his previous career best and Wolves record — but it wasn’t enough in Minnesota’s 128-125 loss to Charlotte.
Add it all up, and Monday was the fourth day in NBA history when two players scored at least 60 points. The others were April 9, 1978, (David Thompson had 73 for Denver, George Gervin had 63 for San Antonio as they dueled on the season’s final day for the scoring title), Jan. 17, 1962, (Jerry West scored 63 for the Lakers, Wilt Chamberlain scored 62 for the Philadelphia Warriors) and Dec. 8, 1961 (Chamberlain had 78 for the Warriors and Elgin Baylor had 63 for the Lakers in a triple-overtime game against each other).
Victor Wembanyama — the 7-foot-3 Spurs rookie — had 33 points for San Antonio, and even he was no match for Philly’s big man, reigning NBA MVP and two-time defending scoring champion. Embiid had 34 at halftime, and when he scored five quick points early in the third quarter, 76ers coach Nick Nurse began taking notice.
“I was like, ‘Geez, that’s a lot with a whole half to go . ... This’ll probably be a big number tonight,’ ” Nurse said.
A real, real, real big number. Embiid’s 70-point night tied the 12th-biggest scoring effort in NBA history, and broke Chamberlain’s 76ers team record of 68 points.
“To be in the same conversation, that’s pretty cool,” Embiid said.
Chamberlain was playing for the Philadelphia Warriors when he set the NBA record with 100 points.