Joel Embiid maintained his dominant scoring streak as the Philadelphia 76ers extended its winning run to seven games with a 121-82 thrashing of the Charlotte Hornets on Friday.
Embiid, one of the front-runners for the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award, rattled in another 38 points during a one-sided road victory.
The Sixers star is averaging 35 points a game in March and has not scored fewer than 31 points in eight games this month.
Embiid’s latest tally came from 16-of-21 shooting, with 13 rebounds and five assists.
“Home or road, it doesn’t matter,” Embiid said afterwards. “We know what it takes offensively and defensively, everybody doing their job... we did it as a team.”
James Harden had a rare off-night with only 11 points after shooting 4-of-15 from the field, but the Sixers still had far too much firepower and defensive nous for a Charlotte team that is second from the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
Tobias Harris added 18 points, while Tyrese Maxey chipped in with 13.
Despite the one-sided nature of the win, Sixers coach Doc Rivers was pleased that his team emerged with a clean bill of health.
“It’s just good to get the game over with and be healthy,” said Rivers, who also took satisfaction from the Sixers’ ruthless performance.
“It just shows that we are focused, and we are showing up and playing,” Rivers said.
“There is no guarantee each night how you’re going to play, but there is a guarantee how you can show up -- and we’re showing up every night.”
Philadelphia improved to 47-22 with the win and is third in the East, behind leaders Milwaukee (50-20) and Boston (48-22).
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