Los Angeles—Joel Embiid scored 35 points as the Philadelphia 76ers returned to top spot in the Eastern Conference on Tuesday with a 106-96 victory over the Boston Celtics.
Cameroonian star Embiid, playing in his second game since returning from a 10-game injury layoff, led from the front as the Sixers overpowered the Celtics in the third and final regular-season meeting of the two teams.
Danny Green added 17 points while Ben Simmons had 12. Tobias Harris and Furkan Korkmaz finished with 10 points apiece as the Sixers improved to 35-16 to edge ahead of the Brooklyn Nets in the East.
Despite his 35-point display, Embiid believes he is still not firing on all cylinders as he works his way back from injury.
“It’s only my second game back,” Embiid said. “I’m still working through it to get back to the shape I was in before I got hurt, but I’m feeling great.
“The body feels healthy. It’s all about me putting game together and getting back to where I was.”
Embiid however was disgusted with his shooting performance from the free throw line. Despite making 16 of 20 attempts for an 80 percent success rate, Embiid believes it should have been more.
‘Too many misses’
“Too many misses,” Embiid said. “I should be a 90 percent free throw shooter. That’s why I get pissed off—they’re called free throws. I should be making more.”
A disappointing night at the TD Garden for the hosts saw Boston booed by their own fans midway through the third quarter as the Sixers surged into a 21-point lead after a Simmons layup.
Although the Celtics closed the margin to 10 points at the buzzer, the contest was effectively over long before the end.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens said his team had paid the price for a lack of precision.
“We were loose with our passes, we took too much of a gamble, too much of a risk and it backfired,” Stevens said.
“You have to be sure with the ball against them because otherwise, they get running in transition.
“They are big, strong physical guys that take you where they want to go. It puts you in a bind if you’re not able to hold your ground individually. They play a physical brand of basketball.”
Jayson Tatum led the Boston scorers with 20 points while Jaylen Brown finished with 17 as Marcus Smart and Kemba Walker added 14 apiece.
The defeat leaves the Celtics with a 25-26 record for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Curry too hot for Bucks
Elsewhere Tuesday, Steph Curry delivered another mesmerising MVP-worthy performance with 41 points as the Golden State Warriors took advantage of the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo to clinch a 122-121 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Curry went 14-of-21 from the field as the Warriors overturned a 10-point deficit with four minutes remaining to claim victory.
“We needed this in the worst way considering how the last 16 or so games have gone,” Curry said, referring to the Warriors’ dismal recent run of form.
The Dubs had won just four of their 16 previous games heading into Tuesday’s home game at the Chase Center, and were battered 130-77 by Toronto last week.
“We just needed a win to feel good about ourselves,” Curry added.
“It gives you confidence and it should help us build our identity. It’s big for us as we make a playoff push. It helps some of the younger guys understand what winning is like.”
The Warriors are 10th in the Western Conference standings, just outside the playoff places with 24 wins and 27 losses.
In Toronto, the injury-hit Los Angeles Lakers had seven players in double figures in a 110-101 win over the Raptors to kick off a daunting five-game road trip with an encouraging victory.
Talen Horton-Tucker led the Lakers scoring off the bench with 17 points in just over 25 minutes on court as the NBA champions bounced back from their humiliating 104-86 rout by the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
“We got embarrassed on Sunday against the Clippers,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “We were all on a long flight angry about how that game went.
“Our mindset was to take it out on the Raptors and we did thanks to great ball movement, and an angry, nasty defensive disposition.”