Highlights: Watch Kyrie Irving, Joel Embiid in Epic Duel as 76ers Beat Celtics
The Philadelphia 76ers hosted the Boston Celtics at the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday, and the battle of Eastern Conference powers turned into a duel between Joel Embiid and Kyrie Irving.
Embiid led his team to a 118-115 victory by going off for 37 points and 22 rebounds in a monster performance:
As Sixers Stats noted, a second 30-20 game of the season put the Philadelphia star in exclusive company:
It also marked the third 30-plus performance in five March appearances for Embiid. Unlike the other two games, the 7'0", 250-pound big man did most of his damage from the line against the Celtics, going 20-of-21:
The two-time All-Star is now averaging 29.6 points in March and has put up a total of 77 points over his last two showings.
Although the Celtics were not able to pull out the victory, it was through no fault of Irving. Aided by a 16-point outburst in the opening quarter, the Boston star went off for 36:
Irving now has four consecutive 30-point games, and he has now reached the mark in five of his last six appearances.
This wasn't the first time the two All-Stars put on a show like this, as ESPN Stats & Info pointed out:
Unfortunately for the Celtics, the combination of Embiid and Jimmy Butler (15 fourth-quarter points) proved to be too much.
The late comeback helped Philadelphia avoid a season sweep, although Boston still claimed victory in three of the four meetings.
