On December 21, 2023, Beijing time, in today's NBA game, the 18-8 76ers hosted the 20-5 Timberwolves, the Timberwolves currently have the first record in the league, for the 76ers, this battle can be called a test battle, can they beat the first in the league? 76ers starters: Maxey + Melton + Harris + Oubre + Embiid, Timberwolves starters: Conley + Edwards + McDaniels + Towns + Gobert.
In the first quarter of the game, McDaniels scored three points, Edwards scored 5 points in a row, the Timberwolves 8-0, Embiid made 4 of 4 free throws, Oubre scored three points, and the difference was chased to 1 point, Downs, McDaniels scored, Embiid, Harris, Maxey responded, the 76ers overtook 2 points, McDaniels, Towns, and Walker overtook 3 points, Embiid, Beverley, Melton, and Morris overtook 7 points, Edwards scored consecutive points, Embiid made 2 of 2 free throws, and the 76ers led 28-24 in the first quarter. Embiid made 1 of 6 from the field and 8 of 8 free throws in the first quarter, scoring 10 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, and he made Gobert, Towns, and Reed all 2 fouls, and the Timberwolves' interior defense was in a hurry.
In the second quarter of the game, Maxey and Harris scored 5 points in a row, the 76ers led by 9 points, Downs and Conley scored, Maxey responded with consecutive scores, the difference was 10 points, Downs and McDaniels chased the difference to 3 points, Embiid shot, Edwards and McDaniels chased the points, the difference was 1 point to stop the 76ers, after the pause came back, Maxey and Embiid scored continuously, McDaniels and Reed chased the points, the difference was 2 points, Maxey, Embiid, Oubre extended the margin to seven points, Towns scored back-to-back points, Morris hit a mid-range shot, and the 76ers led 64-60 at halftime.
Embiid had 20 points and 5 boards on 5-of-11 shooting and 10-of-10 free throws in the half, Maxey had 20 points and 3 assists on 6-of-12 shooting, Oubre had 7 points, and the Timberwolves McDaniels had 19 points and 2 boards on 7-of-11 shooting, Towns had 16 points and 7 boards on 6-of-10 shooting, and Edwards had 12 points and 3 boards, and he almost dunked Embiid in the first half.
In the third quarter of the game, the 76ers announced that Melton would no longer play due to a left thigh contusion, Embiid shot, the 76ers led by 6 points, Towns, Edwards, Gobert played 11-0, the Timberwolves overtook 5 points to stop the 76ers, McDaniels made a basket after the timeout, the difference was 7 points, Embiid, Harris scored, Gobert and Edwards responded, the difference was 6 points, Embiid scored continuously, Beverley throws, the 76ers overtook 1 point, Lee Kyle and Walker overtook 2 points, Martin, Embiid led by 3 points, and the 76ers led 90-87 at the end of the third quarter, and Embiid scored 19 points in the quarter.
In the fourth quarter of the game, Maxey scored three points, the 76ers led by 6 points, Towns 2+1, Maxey made a layup, the difference was 5 points, Reed, Conley scored, Harris, Maxey, Paul Reed, Embiid scored in a row, the difference came to 14 points, Gobert scored 4 points in a row, the difference was 10 points, Embiid scored in a row, Edwards chased the score, the difference was 12 points, Maxey made a layup, the difference was 14 points, there were more than 2 minutes left in the game, the Timberwolves withdrew the main force, and finally the 76ers defeated the Timberwolves 127-113.
Embiid scored 51 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals on 17-of-25 shooting and 17-of-18 free throws, and he set a record for at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in 12 consecutive years, and is the only person in the NBA to achieve this feat in the past 52 years. He scored at least 40 points and 10 rebounds in three consecutive games, the first player in team history since Chamberlain in 1967. Maxey had 35 points, one board and five assists on 12-of-24 shooting, Harris had nine points and five boards, and Oubre had seven points and two boards.
Towns had 23 points, 13 rebounds and two assists on 9-of-14 shooting, Edwards had 27 points, seven rebounds and five assists on 9-of-20 shooting, McDaniels had 21 points and three boards on 8-of-12 shooting, Conley had nine points and four assists, and Gobert had eight points and nine boards.
The Timberwolves were tied by the Celtics after the loss, but the Celtics had a better record in the division, and they surpassed the Timberwolves to become the first in the league, but the Celtics also had games today, and the ranking is still uncertain.