By Adrian Stewart Co
Philadelphia 76ers regained the top spot in the Eastern Conference after a 113-95 beating of Dallas Mavericks in the 2020-2021 NBA Season on Monday night (Tuesday in the Philippines) at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
Joel Embiid top-scored with 36 points, with 23 coming in the opening quarter, to go along with seven rebounds while Fukuan Korkmaz chipped in 20 markers for the 76ers.
Tobias Harris and Shake Milton contributed 10 markers apiece for Philadelphia, which moved up to solo first place in the Eastern Conference standings with 37-17 slate.
From a 34-all score, the 76ers surged to a 47-40 lead with hits from Korkmaz and Ben Simmons. It grew further to 60-45 late in the second period on consecutive shots from Embiid.
Embiid continued his offensive onslaught in the third quarter, while Danny Green, Seth Curry and Shake Milton also got their shots to fall as the lead reached its largest at 113-93.
Luka Doncic tallied 32 points, Jalen Brunson chipped in 15 markers, while Dorian Finney-Smith had double-double 12 points and 11 rebounds as the Mavericks dropped to 29-24.
Meanwhile, Julius Randle served as a thorn on the side of his former team Los Angeles Lakers (32-21) as he powered New York Knicks (28-27) to a 111-96 victory.
Holding to a 55-52 halftime lead, the Knicks created separation from the Lakers with triples from Reggie Bullock and inside baskets from Randle for an 81-69 advantage.
The Lakers clawed to within 87-92 in the fourth but Randle punished his former team by knocking down consecutive baskets as the Knicks lead grew to its largest at 111-94.
Randle, who spent the first few years in the league with the Lakers, posted a double-double 34 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Knicks while Elfrid Payton chipped in 20 markers.
BOX SCORE:
PHILADELPHIA 113 – Embiid 36, Korkmaz 20, Harris 10, Milton 10, Curry 8, Simmons 8, Thybulle 7, Green 6, Howard 4, Scott 4, Tucker 0, Maxey 0, Joe 0, Reed 0, Jones 0.
DALLAS 93 – Doncic 32, Brunson 15, Finney-Smith 12, Hardaway 9, Richardson 7, Redick 4, Kleber 3, Powell 3, Burke 2, Marjanovic 2, Green 2, Bey 2, Hinton 2, Cauley-Stein 0, Melli 0.
Quarterscores: 30-26, 60-48, 88-69, 113-95./ASC, WDJ