Wednesday night’s NBA Series game features numerous intriguing matches, from the top team in the East facing the top team in the West, the drama of James Harden’s return to Houston, which pits All-Stars against each other with the Chicago Bulls’ Zach LaVine vs. William Williams of the New Orleans Pelicans, and two of the league’s leading scorers in the fight against Steph Curry, with Damian Lillard.
In addition, 12 teams are finishing the first half of the season as the All-Star Weekend draws to a close.
With so much action to watch, we asked our NBA insiders for their biggest takeaways from the biggest games.
Embiid makes MVP matter by disguising Jazz
Anyone who watched even one second of the Philadelphia 76ers’ 131-123 victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night could tell that the game meant something extra special to Sixers star Joel Embiid.
Embiid – who told ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan in December that he had to make an All-NBA team over Rudy Gobert last season, and strived to be the league’s defensive player of the year – was dominant on both sides in Wednesday’s win, which scored 40 points to go with 19 rebounds, three assists, a steal and two blocks in 40 minutes.
Offensive, Embiid repeatedly pushed through Gobert and got his distinctive double-digit release attempts, while also getting several buckets to the edge. Meanwhile, on the defensive side, Embiid flew around, repeatedly breaking lobes towards Gobert and contesting in one possession against a Donovan Mitchell ride and then recovering fast enough to block Gobert at the edge.
Embiid said before the season started, that he was on a mission to prove that the lack of recognition he received last year was a mistake. Wednesday night was the latest example of how successful the campaign was. And while Embiid may not win the Defensive Player of the Year – Doc Rivers said before the game that his teammate Ben Simmons should vote best for the award – games like Wednesday are why Embiid is one of the favorites to to be the NBA’s most valuable player this season, and the Sixers enter the All-Star break with the best record in the Eastern Conference. – Tim Bontemps
Hard dominant in return to Houston
Nothing about James Harden’s return to the Toyota Center has surprised so many. Harden received a mixed response from Rockets fans in the crowd of the pandemic, as some cheered in appreciation for his eight spectacular seasons in Houston and others cheered and expressed Harden’s fresh, hurt feelings less than two months ago. forced trade.
As he has done consistently since joining the Brooklyn Nets, Harden led the way, posting his eighth triple-double since the trade with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists. And the Rockets lost, 132-114, and extended the franchise’s longest drive in two decades to a painfully fitting 13 games, matching Harden’s jersey number that will one day hang on the beams of Houston. – Tim MacMahon
Pacers’ McConnell sets record for robbery
The Indiana Pacers facing the Cleveland Cavaliers were not a game, but TJ McConnell, waiting for the Pacers, found a way to steal the spotlight. McConnell stole nine in the first half, the most by any player in the half since the stat became official in 1973-74.
McConnell finished with ten steals for the game, the record of which is shy, but scored 16 points and 13 strokes for a very unusual triple-double in Indiana’s 114-111 victory.
Tonight, TJ McConnell recorded the 11th triple-double with steals since stealing became official in 1973-74. He is the first to do so according to the bank @EliasSports.
He is also the first Pacers player with a triple-double from the bench since Detlaf Schrempf in February 1993 pic.twitter.com/u7LL1tPL1M
– ESPN Statistics and Information (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 4, 2021
McConnell was, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, 8-for-8 from the field who became the first player to steal ten while shooting 100% from the field. He stole the highest field goal percentage in a game with ten or more, and overtook Michael Jordan (78% in 1988).
Double triple-double for Detroit
Dennis Smith Jr. and Mason Plumlee are the 2nd pair of teammates in Pistons history to each score a triple-double in the same game, according to research by the Elias Sports Bureau.
Smith scored his triple-double on the smallest sideline, with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Plumlee scored 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Detroit beat the Toronto Raptors 129-105.
The other Pistons teammates with three doubles in the same game were Donnie Butcher and Ray Scott, who did it in 1964.