Joel Embiid brushed off questions about being driven to win the MVP this season after leading the Philadelphia 76ers to a 105-87 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.
Embiid was named on Thursday as a starter in the All-Star Game, as he scored 26 points with nine rebounds and seven assists in the 76ers' win.
The 27-year-old center's haul extended his run to 16 straight games scoring 25 points or more, while it also helped the 76ers to 13 wins from their past 16 games.
Embiid missed out on last season's MVP award with an untimely late season knee injury not helping, finishing third behind Nikola Jokic and Stephen Curry, but he brushed off questions about being driven to win that accolade.
"To be the MVP, you need to win games and that's been my main focus," Embiid told ESPN after the win over the Lakers.
"We've got to continue to do, what we've been doing. We've been playing great of late.
"Obviously we started the year pretty well, then COVID hit us and I missed a couple of games and we lost a couple of them but now we've started to get back in the rhythm and get some guys back.
"To be the MVP, my focus is on winning."
Embiid was critical of his own performance on Thursday as he matched up with Anthony Davis, who scored a game-high 31 points and also had 12 rebounds.
"I'm p****d off I had a bad night tonight," Embiid said. "I'm glad we got the win. That's a big win in our quest to be the number one seed."
Embiid also praised second-season guard Tyrese Maxey who added 14 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists and continues to ably fill Ben Simmons' void.
"Maxey has been great," Embiid said. "He needs to continue to keep doing whatever he's been doing."
LeBron James and Kevin Durant will be the captains in this year's All-Star Game while Ja Morant and Andrew Wiggins got their first selections as the starters were confirmed on Thursday.
The NBA announced the starters for the annual midseason exhibition to be held on February 20 in Cleveland.
In the west, James was named for his 18th straight All-Star appearance in his 19th season alongside reigning MVP Nikola Jokic (fourth All-Star selection) and MVP contender Stephen Curry (eighth All-Star selection).
Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant and Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins were the two first-time All-Star starters, with the latter coming as the major surprise.
Four-time MVP James has made 18 All-Star teams, equaling Kobe Bryant for second place all-time behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19).
Durant, who is under an injury cloud for the game, will lead the east side after finishing with more fan votes than anyone else in the conference.
The Nets superstar will be joined by Chicago Bulls guard DeMar DeRozan and Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young in the backcourt, with Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The All-Star reserves will be selected by the coaches in both conferences and confirmed on Thursday.
LeBron James has been ruled out of the Los Angeles Lakers' clash with the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday due to left knee soreness.
Lakers head coach Frank Vogel revealed pre-game that the 37-year-old four-time MVP had woken up with soreness and would not face the in-form 76ers, who are 28-19.
James has been in excellent scoring form lately, averaging 29.1 points, shooting 52.2 per cent from the field and 35.2 per cent beyond the arc across the season.
The veteran superstar has scored 25 points or more in each of the Lakers' past 18 games, dating back to mid-December. Only once – in 21 games for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2008 – has he enjoyed a longer such streak.
James has averaged an astonishing 32.5 points over this period, although the Lakers have gone 8-10.
"He’s out tonight," Vogel said of his star man on Thursday. "Just woke up with some soreness that was enough to hold him out. He’ll be day-to-day."
James had only just reunited with Anthony Davis on the court, with the All-Star forward returning from an MCL sprain in Tuesday's 106-96 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Besides scoring 29.1 points per game, up on his career average of 27.1, James is averaging 6.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds this season.
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo thinks the Cleveland Cavaliers deserve more respect after their impressive defeat of the reigning champions.
The Cavs moved to 30-19 for the season, with eight wins from their past nine games, thanks to a dominant 115-99 home victory over the Bucks.
Cleveland have already comfortably surpassed their win total from last season, when they claimed just 22 victories and were in the draft lottery for the third year running, and only one side in the Eastern Conference has won more than their 30 games in 2021-22.
After falling behind in the first quarter, they dominated the middle phase of Thursday's game, beginning the second half with a three-pointer triple in 48 seconds before marching into a 93-72 lead.
Giannis tallied 26 points, nine rebounds and three assists on his return from a knee problem but his efforts were not enough.
Last year's Finals MVP said there is little doubt the Cavs are now contenders not just for the playoffs, but for the title.
"This is not the Cleveland we knew over the past few years," said Giannis, who brought chicken wings to his post-game media conference.
"They have a good team, and we have to respect them more. They're a playoff team and are fighting for the title themselves."
Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of arguably their best win of the season: "It's who we are. We take on all challenges.
"We don't run from anybody. We don't back down. We give everybody our best shot."
Counterpart Mike Budenholzer had few complaints about the result, adding of the Cavs: "They played lights out tonight.
"I don't know what the right analogy is, but they played really well. They beat us pretty good.
"Live ball turnovers is when transition defense is the toughest, and we made a lot of them."
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo thinks the Cleveland Cavaliers deserve more respect after their impressive defeat of the reigning champions.
The Cavs moved to 30-19 for the season, with eight wins from their past nine games, thanks to a dominant 115-99 home victory over the Bucks.
Cleveland have already comfortably surpassed their win total from last season, when they claimed just 22 victories and were in the draft lottery for the third year running, and only one side in the Eastern Conference has won more than their 30 games in 2021-22.
After falling behind in the first quarter, they dominated the middle phase of Thursday's game, beginning the second half with a three-pointer triple in 48 seconds before marching into a 93-72 lead.
Giannis tallied 26 points, nine rebounds and three assists on his return from a knee problem but his efforts were not enough.
Last year's Finals MVP said there is little doubt the Cavs are now contenders not just for the playoffs, but for the title.
"This is not the Cleveland we knew over the past few years," said Giannis, who brought chicken wings to his post-game media conference.
"They have a good team, and we have to respect them more. They're a playoff team and are fighting for the title themselves."
Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of arguably their best win of the season: "It's who we are. We take on all challenges.
"We don't run from anybody. We don't back down. We give everybody our best shot."
Counterpart Mike Budenholzer had few complaints about the result, adding of the Cavs: "They played lights out tonight.
"I don't know what the right analogy is, but they played really well. They beat us pretty good.
"Live ball turnovers is when transition defense is the toughest, and we made a lot of them."
The Phoenix Suns recorded their eighth consecutive victory as they defeated the Utah Jazz 105-97 with Devin Booker producing another 40-point game on Wednesday.
Booker had 43 points, 12 rebounds and four assists after a first-quarter scoring blitz as the Suns opened up an early 39-18 lead.
Chris Paul (21 points) added some key points down the stretch as the Jazz rallied in the last quarter.
The 25-year-old shooting guard recorded his 16th career 40-point game, moving past Amar'e Stoudemire for most in Suns franchise history, sitting ahead of Tom Chambers and Walter Davis too.
The victory means the table-topping Suns improve to 38-9 overall and 8-0 on the road this calendar year.
Hornets break records in Pacers rout
The Charlotte Hornets set a franchise record for single game scoring and produced the highest points total this season as they downed the Indiana Pacers 158-126. The Hornets hit 24 three-pointers, with LaMelo Ball (29 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists) and Kelly Oubre Jr (39 points) starring.
The Cleveland Cavaliers underlined their credentials as contenders with a 115-99 win over the champions Milwaukee Bucks. The Cavs moved above the Bucks with their eighth win in their past nine games, with Kevin Love scoring 25 points. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 26 points and nine rebounds for the Bucks.
Ja Morant was exceptional with 41 points, five rebounds and eight assists as the Memphis Grizzlies won 118-110 over the San Antonio Spurs, while Nikola Jokic (26 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists) led the Denver Nuggets past the depleted Brooklyn Nets 124-118. James Harden was out with hamstring tightness.
Bulls wayward but winners
The Chicago Bulls only managed seven three-pointers, shooting at 26.9 percent from beyond the arc yet they won 111-105 over the Toronto Raptors. The Bulls had lost six of seven but have steadied to win their past two, with DeMar DeRozan having 29 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash has provided injury updates on James Harden and Kevin Durant after reports that the latter would be out until after the All-Star Game.
Harden missed Wednesday's 124-118 loss to the Denver Nuggets with "hamstring tightness" while Durant has not played since spraining his MCL on January 15.
The Nets did not provide a timeframe on Durant's return although ESPN claimed it would be between four and six weeks.
ESPN also reporting this week that Durant would miss the All-Star Game scheduled for February 20 although Nash did not confirm that.
"We'll re-evaluate in the next week or so," Nash said at the post-game news conference. "We’ll see how his rehab goes and what the re-evaluations tell us."
Durant is currently averaging 29.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.8 assists through 36 games this season.
Harden has averaged 23.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 10.1 assists this season, but is also averaging 37 minutes per game with the absences of Durant and Kyrie Irving impacting his on-court time.
"I think we're all hopeful he'll play next game," Nash said about Harden with the Nets to play the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.
"It's day to day, so we'll see. It's likely, probable and we're all very hopeful that he'll be ready to go."
Cameron Thomas top scored with 25 points against the Nuggets, while Patty Mills impressed with 21 points, three rebounds and six assists.
The defeat leaves the Nets with a 29-19 record having lost three in a row, slipping to fourth in the east.
"Details. We're proud of the guys' effort, but details, we talked about them last night," Nash said.
"Part of that, is we had some guys play together who've not played many minutes together over the last few years so there's some cohesion that is lacking and some understanding and familiarity lacking.
"That's where we have to improve especially with guys out of the lineup."
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