Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers has never seen anything like Joel Embiid's performance at both ends in Sunday's 105-98 win over the Utah Jazz.
Embiid scored a career-best 59 points, with a joint career-high seven blocks, along with 11 rebounds and eight assists.
The Cameroonian scored 26 of Philadelphia's 27 final quarter points and more than half their total score, a feat not achieved in the NBA since Damian Lillard in 2019.
"I've seen a guy score a lot of points," Rivers told reporters. "I haven't seen guys score a lot of points, rebound, and then the blocked shots. That was impressive.
"He was just getting everything. I've never seen a more dominating performance when you combine defense and offense."
Embiid's teammates were left in awe too, with Matisse Thybulle labelling his stat line as "pretty ridiculous".
"It’s absurd. Actually, my friends were texting me after the game and they were like 'It's like a 2K stat line' and it's not one of those things you see in a real basketball game," Thybulle said.
"It's like when you pick one player on 2K and just do everything with him. It's pretty ridiculous if I'm being honest. It's amazing."
Embiid's 59 points is the best in the NBA this season, exceeding Darius Garland's mark of 51 set earlier on Sunday in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 129-124 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Despite his monstrous performance, Embiid played down the significance of his individual display.
"This is not about me. We did it as a team," the 28-year-old center said. "Obviously, the coaches put me in those positions, and obviously, my teammates fed me the ball. I thought we had great spacing around everything we were doing.
"Like I said, all the credit goes to my teammates just being in the right spots and trusting me and giving me the ball."
Embiid shot 19-of-28 from the field including making a three-pointer, which reinforced to him that it was going to be his game.
"When I finally made a three [I knew it was going to be a big game] because I’ve been shooting the ball so bad this year from three," he said.
"It was early in the game. I saw how they were guarding me. Just like last night, I'll take that every night. If they’re not gonna double team as much, I hope every team does it so I'll take it, but from the beginning... Obviously, in the fourth quarter with the game being so close, I just wanted to do whatever it took."
'Machine' Brunson powers Knicks past likely playoff opponents
Jalen Brunson stepped up in Julius Randle's absence on a career night as the New York Knicks fired a warning shot in beating the Cleveland Cavaliers ahead of the playoffs.
The Knicks are fifth in the Eastern Conference, with the Cavs in fourth. Barring an unlikely late turn of events, they will face each other in the first round this postseason.
Friday's win was a big one then for New York, a 130-116 victory in Cleveland renewing optimism ahead of making that same trip again in the coming weeks.
All-Star Randle was back in New York, but he was scarcely missed as Brunson scored a career-high 48 points, including seven three-pointers.
"There is nothing that Jalen does that surprises you," said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. "He's so mentally tough.
"He's nicked up a little bit, but he's a machine. He just keeps going."
Randle sprained his ankle this week and will miss the rest of the regular season, although he will be evaluated again ahead of the playoffs.
"He's done all he can to prepare himself to play in every game, which is a credit to him," Thibodeau said.
"He doesn't miss practice. He doesn't miss games. I'm actually surprised it doesn't happen more than it does."
With Randle potentially returning for the Knicks' far more consequential next game against the Cavs, Donovan Mitchell was eager to ensure Cleveland learn from their loss.
"This loss hurts," said Mitchell. "We need to feel it and be ready to use it when the time comes.
"Obviously, we control our destiny and we'll probably see these guys in two weeks.
"There is a lot of film to go through. But if we let this affect us, we have no chance in the playoffs."
NBA and NBPA agree on new CBA, including in-season tournament
The NBA and the NBPA have reached an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, which is set to include a new in-season tournament.
The two parties announced a deal early on Saturday, although details of the CBA's contents were not officially released.
"The NBA and National Basketball Players Association have reached a tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, pending ratification by players and team governors," a statement read.
"Specific details will be made available once a term sheet is finalised."
ESPN reported the terms of a seven-year agreement that is set to come into place from next season.
The most notable addition is that of an in-season tournament, which would see eight teams advance to a single-elimination bracket ahead of a 'Final Four' at a neutral site.
Those games would count towards the regular season standings, meaning the two finalists would play 83 games.
The agreement is also reported to include changes to eligibility rules for end-of-season awards, requiring MVP candidates to appear in 65 games in order to qualify in a bid to curb load management.
Further tweaks relate to team spending and contracts, with the upper limit for player extensions set to increase.
'Pivotal force' Davis carries Lakers despite ankle concern
Anthony Davis limped through a vital Los Angeles Lakers win at the Minnesota Timberwolves before assuring fans his ankle would "be fine" and "we're not finished".
The Lakers moved above .500 for the first time this season with a 123-111 victory at the T-Wolves, powered by 38 points and 17 rebounds from Davis.
That was despite the Lakers superstar turning his ankle in his first game back in Minnesota since sustaining a knee injury there in December 2021.
On that occasion, Davis missed more than a month; this time, he did not miss a possession.
"I knew I was going to play," he said after the game. "Tied the shoes up tighter and just kind of played off adrenaline until the end of the game and was able to get some treatment. But I'll be fine."
The Lakers could not have afforded to be without him, with coach Darvin Ham emphasising the big man's importance to their team.
"Everyone knows that in order for us to be at the highest level and playing at the highest level, it all starts with AD," he said.
"We have a team that can make some things happen, but you have to have that one pivotal force that's leading the charge, and in our case, with this particular team here in the moment, it's AD.
"When he comes out and he's aggressive and we're feeding him and he's not settling and he's putting pressure on the paint, putting pressure on the rim, we find ourselves having a lot of success."
LeBron James added of his team-mate: "I think he understood the assignment and knew how important this game was, and I think we all knew that.
"We jumped on AD's back and he brought us home."
As T-Wolves coach Chris Finch put it: "He kicked our a** in every way possible."
The Lakers are up to seventh in the West, but an intense playoff race is not done – and nor are they.
"We've made some huge climbs, but we're not finished," Davis said. "We want to get greedy."
Mar 28, 2023 NBA
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