Joel Embiid's triple-double fuels Philadelphia 76ers to blowout over Los Angeles Lakers

PHILADELPHIA – Joel Embiid recorded the sixth triple-double of his NBA career with 30 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to help the Philadelphia 76ers to a 138-94 win against the visiting Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night.

Tyrese Maxey scored 31 points and shot five-for-12 from three-point distance, helping the 76ers shoot 22-for-46 as a team, one make short of the franchise record.

Marcus Morris Sr. went four-for-five on threes and scored 16 points off the bench for the 76ers, who had lost two of three. Patrick Beverley, who came in three for 22 from three-point distance this season, shot four for eight from beyond the arc and scored 12 points.

LeBron James scored 18 points and passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most minutes played, regular season and play-offs, in NBA history when he crossed the 66,289-minute mark.

Anthony Davis had 17 points and 11 rebounds and D’Angelo Russell contributed 12 points and seven assists for the Lakers, who had won four of five.

The 76ers shot 13-for-26 from three-point distance in the first half and took a 15-point lead into halftime after leading by as many as 25.

The Lakers cut it to 11 on a three by Taurean Prince with 9:44 left in the third quarter, but De’Anthony Melton hit threes on back-to-back possessions to spark a 10-2 run and the lead was back up to 19.

Philadelphia eventually took a 98-80 lead into the fourth and continued to expand its lead.

The 76ers used a 20-2 run in the first quarter to move ahead 28-15 with 3:11 left and Los Angeles never got back within single digits.

Embiid was on the bench when the 76ers took a 32-19 lead into the second quarter, but Philadelphia kept adding to its lead.

The 76ers started four-for-six from three-point distance in the second quarter to extend their lead to 46-27 with 8:06 left in the half.

Morris hit threes on back-to-back trips to make it 52-29 with 6:36 left.

The Lakers ended the half with a 14-4 run to make it 68-53 at the break. REUTERS