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Philadelphia (United States) (AFP) – Cameroon forwards Joel Embiid and Pascal Siakam and star James Harden made the offense a party Tuesday night in the NBA.
Embiid had 36 points and 11 rebounds, and teammate Harden added his second consecutive triple-double as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Detroit Pistons 147-116.
Harden finished with 16 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds and Embiid returned from a three-game absence with a left foot injury.
It was the same dominant performance as last season’s NBA scoring champion. Embiid is chasing a second consecutive title.
The Cameroonian averaged 33.5 points going into the game, behind Slovenian Luka Doncic (Dallas), and is looking to pass Wilt Chamberlain (33.5; 1965-1966) for the highest season average in club history squad.
Two days after Harden also hit a triple-double in Philadelphia’s win at Detroit, the Sixers built a 24-point halftime lead. The Pistons have the worst record in the Eastern Conference. The Sixers did their part to put Detroit in that position.
Saddiq Bey, Jaden Ivey and Rodney McGruder each had 17 points for the Pistons.
The Sixers scored 42 points in the third quarter and skipped the starters in the fourth quarter.
Harden leads the NBA with five games of at least 15 assists. That’s the most for any Sixer since Mo Cheeks had five in 1987-88.
Siakam also excels
In Toronto, Pascal Siakam, also from Cameroon, scored 28 points, Gary Trent Jr. had 24, and the local Raptors defeated the Charlotte Hornets 132-120.
Great Britain’s OG Anunoby scored eight of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and matched his career high with six 3-pointers as Toronto won its fourth straight home game and reached the middle of the regular season at 18-23.
The Raptors had a season-high 20 triples on 44 attempts.
The Canadian team won back-to-back games for the sixth time this season. But they have yet to win three in a row this season.
Toronto had 18 offensive rebounds to Charlotte’s six.
Terry Rozier had 33 points and LaMelo Ball had a season-high 24 points and 14 assists, but the Hornets lost for the fifth time in their last six games.
Mason Plumlee had 21 points for Charlotte, PJ Washington Jr. had 13 and Jalen McDaniels had 11.
In Miami, the hosts Heat sensationally beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 112-111, thanks to the 35 points of their ace Jimmy Butler.
Miami’s Talisman Butler finished with 23 of 23 perfect free throws, including the game-winning point with just under 13 seconds left.
Butler’s tally was part of a remarkable 40-of-40 free throws made by Miami, breaking Utah’s old record of 39-of-39 made against Portland in 1982.
Butler said later that he didn’t notice Miami’s record-breaking night from the free throw line.
“I had no idea,” Butler told reporters. “I’m more thrilled to have won this game by one point.”
For his part, Miami coach Erik Spoelstra was also unaware of his team’s free throw record.
“I didn’t realize we didn’t miss a free throw,” Spoelstra said. “We’ve been a really good free throw team all year. It’s crazy.”
– Tuesday results in the NBA:
Philadelphia and Detroit 147-116
Toronto to Charlotte 132-120
Miami and Oklahoma City 112-111
Utah to Cleveland 116-114
Phoenix a Golden State 125-113
Orlando to Portland 109-106
LA Clippers in Dallas 113-101
© 2023 AFP
