Tyrese Maxey described himself as "blessed" after joining an exclusive club with his 52-point display against the San Antonio Spurs in Sunday's 133-126 overtime win for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Maxey put up his third 50-point performance of the season as the Sixers boosted their hopes of avoiding the Play-In Tournament with a fifth straight win.

He joined Joel Embiid, Allen Iverson and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in franchise history to reach a half-century three times in a single year, with Chamberlain doing so in an NBA-record 45 games in 1961-62.

Asked about the significance of that achievement after the game, Maxey said: "For my little self to be mentioned with those guys, hey, I'm happy, I'm blessed.

"I didn't want to let us lose. I just wanted to do whatever I could, exert all my energy. I could live with the result after that. 

"No matter how tired, no matter how sore, I just wanted to go out there and try to help us win."

Maxey's performance ensured Philadelphia overcame the absence of Embiid, who was rested after playing three straight games upon his return from knee surgery.

Maxey also put up 50 points against the Indiana Pacers in November and 51 versus the Utah Jazz in February. With Embiid also having three 50-point games this year, the Sixers are the first team in NBA history to have multiple players achieve the feat three times in a single campaign. 

Philadelphia forward Nicolas Batum said of Maxey's showing: "We needed that tonight. Tyrese has been amazing for us all year long. 

"We could easily have been like, 'this is not our night', they're playing good, second night of a back-to-back. But no, he didn't give up. He led the way for us. He kept fighting for us."

Philadelphia outscored San Antonio 30-20 through the final nine minutes of regulation, with Maxey's layup tying it up at 111 to force overtime, with the Sixers ultimately prevailing in a second additional period.

Maxey's heroics meant Victor Wembanyama finished on the losing side despite putting up 33 points, 18 rebounds and six assists, the rookie also posting a career-high five 3-pointers.

Batum was pleased to get one over on Wembanyama now, suggesting few teams will be able to stop him once he gains more experience. 

"He's a special man, he's special," Batum said of the number one draft pick. "It was a good call from [Spurs coach Gregg] Popovich when he said this may be his worst season. 

"That is the scariest part, this may be the worst Wemby we are going to see in 15 years! I'm glad I won this one tonight."

Joel Embiid made his presence felt in his first game in nine weeks following knee surgery, sinking four free throws in the final 40 seconds and finishing with 24 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 109-105 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.

Embiid – the reigning MVP - added seven assists and six rebounds in nearly 30 minutes in his first game since Jan. 30.

Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 25 points and Tobias Harris added 18 for the 76ers, who have won two straight following a 1-5 slide.

They are eighth in the Eastern Conference, 1 ½ games behind Miami.

Chet Holmgren scored 22 points and Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins added 15 apiece as the Thunder failed to win a third straight and dropped one-half game behind Denver for the Western Conference lead.

Oklahoma City squandered an 11-point lead midway through the fourth quarter and was without All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the third time in four games with a quad injury.

Jokic’s big night powers Nuggets

Nikola Jokić had 42 points and 16 rebounds and Michael Porter Jr. hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 28 seconds left to lift the Denver Nuggets to a 110-105 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Jokic’s hook shot snapped a 103-all tie but Victor Wembanyma’s layup at the other end tied it again with 62 seconds left.

Porter, who had 15 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, then drilled a 3 to put Denver ahead to stay.

Wembanyama had 23 points, 15 boards, eight assists and nine blocks to nearly complete the NBA’s first quadruple-double since David Robinson in 1994.

Denver moved atop the Western Conference – a half-game ahead of Oklahoma City and Minnesota.

Warriors stay hot, cool Mavericks

Andrew Wiggins scored 23 points and the Golden State Warriors survived Luka Dončić’s 20th triple-double of the season in a 104-100 victory to end the Dallas Mavericks’ seven-game winning streak.

Doncic had 30 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists and trails only Domantas Sabonis (23) and Nikola Jokić (23) in triple-doubles. The Dallas superstar also notched his 48th 30-point game of the season, trailing only Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (50).

Klay Thompson and Chris Paul each scored 14 points and Stephen Curry had 13 on 5-of-18 shooting as the Warriors tied a season high with their fifth straight win.

Victor Wembanyama wants to be part of "greatness" after his San Antonio Spurs team overcame Jalen Brunson's 61-point effort to beat the New York Knicks on Friday.

Brunson became just the third Knicks player to ever score more than 60 points in a game, 38 of which came in the second half to lead his team on a 21-point comeback, but it ultimately counted for little as the Spurs took a 130-126 victory after overtime.

Wembanyama had a career-high effort of his own, scoring 40 points and collecting 20 rebounds to lead his team to a win that moves the Spurs to 18-56 on the season, still bottom of the Western Conference, while the Knicks slip to 44-29.

Wembanyama managed 13 points and six rebounds in the fourth quarter to hold off the Knicks' comeback before scoring five points and collecting two rebounds in overtime to ensure Brunson's huge game was in vain.

The Spurs rookie was appreciative to have prevailed in the face of Brunson's brilliance, telling reporters: "I've never seen so [much] greatness before this season.

"I've just witnessed so much greatness and I want to be a part of it.

"I always wanted to, but more and more seeing that [I am] already able to compete with those guys. I'm not near [them] but I'm on the right path. I know it and I'm going to get there one day soon."

Brunson has full faith that Wembanyama will go right to the top, also stating that he would only enjoy having had the second-highest scoring game in Knicks' history when he retires due to coming out on the losing end.

"He's going to be one of the greatest players this game has seen," Brunson explained. "[It is] just the way he's built and what he's been able to do so far.

"I've got a lot of respect for him, and it's definitely tough to get a shot up and in over him."

Having watched Brunson and Wembanyama go blow for blow before his team ultimately came out on top, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich stated he had never seen a game quite like it, while heaping praise on his star player.

"It just shows what [Wembanyama] is going to be when he understands all the physicality that's coming at him all the time and what to do about it," Popovich said.

"Fortunately, he's also a hell of an instinctive passer and he's willing to do what he needs to do in that regard. So, he's pretty special."

Frank Vogel hit out at the Phoenix Suns for an "unacceptable" defeat to the San Antonio Spurs.

San Antonio were shorn of star player Victor Wembenyama on Monday, yet ran out 104-102 winners over the Suns.

Phoenix have now lost three of their four meetings against the Spurs this season, despite San Antonio having been rooted to the bottom of the Western Conference.

And Vogel did not hold back in criticising his team.

"It's just unacceptable to lose that game," Suns coach Vogel said.

"For our guys, we all said the right things. We all did the right preparation. But we didn't play with the necessary focus in this position throughout, I would say, the first half."

Bradley Beal added: "It's disappointment.

"We came in here and laid an egg. We thought it was going to be easy with no Wemby. Just got our a** kicked.

"They came out aggressive, just like the coach told us they would, and we didn't respond. Well, we did, but we didn't withstand their punches."

Devin Booker says the Suns knew what to expect of the Spurs, but just did not deliver.

"I'm not into disrespecting our opponents," Booker said.

"These guys are NBA guys. There are some talented young players over there. We weren't unprepared. We knew what to expect."

Jeremy Sochan and Devin Vassell both finished with 26 points for the Spurs.

"I was confident," Sochan said.

"Even at the start, I was asking for the ball, I had my hands up. I felt like a couple of the last games the ball hasn't going in for me from the 3-point line. But no matter what, I believe in myself."

The Suns sit eighth in the West, but are about to embark on what ESPN class as the toughest end to the season in the NBA, but Vogel dismissed those concerns.

"We like our chances against anybody. We don't worry about the schedule," he said.

Zion Williamson scored 34 points to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 112-104 win over the slumping Los Angeles Clippers on Friday that tightened the race for the Western Conference's No. 4 seed.

The surging Pelicans moved within two games of Los Angeles for fourth place in the conference and improved to 14-5 since Jan. 31, tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets for the best record in the West over that span. 

Los Angeles was dealt a third loss in four games despite 26 points from Paul George and 23 from Kawhi Leonard. The Clippers played a second straight game without starting point guard James Harden due to a left shoulder strain.

Williamson recorded 16 of his points during a dominant third quarter in which he went 7 of 7 from the field. The star forward closed out the period with a layup that snapped an 80-80 tie and ignited a 12-3 run that put the Pelicans ahead for good.

Trey Murphy and Naji Marshall each had 3-pointers during the spurt, which Murphy capped with an alley-oop dunk that gave New Orleans a 92-83 lead with 10:24 remaining.

Leonard's hook shot with two minutes left brought the Clippers within 107-102, but Los Angeles came up empty on its next three possessions as New Orleans scored the next five points to put the game out of reach. 

The Clippers trailed by 11 points early in the third quarter before putting together a 12-3 run that trimmed the Pelicans' lead to 65-63 with five minutes left in the period.

Heat handle Pistons to end four-game skid

Bam Adebayo recorded 22 points and nine rebounds to help the Miami Heat end a four-game losing streak with a 108-95 win over the lowly Detroit Pistons.

Terry Rozier scored 10 of his 18 points in the second half as Miami pulled away in the final two quarters to get back on track and remain 2 1/2 games behind first-place Orlando in the Southeast Division. The Magic also won on Friday, earning a 113-103 victory over the Toronto Raptors.

After Adebayo's floater in the closing seconds gave Miami a 56-54 lead at the half, the Heat dominated the final six minutes of the third quarter to stretch their advantage.

Miami broke things open with a 15-0 run, which began with six straight points from Rozier and ended with three consecutive 3-pointers by Duncan Robinson. The last of those baskets increased the margin to 83-65 with 2:29 to go in the third quarter.

The Heat maintained a double-digit cushion over the entire fourth quarter to end Detroit's modest two-game winning streak.

Simone Fontecchio led the Pistons, who own the NBA's second-worst record at 12-54, with 24 points. Jalen Duren compiled 15 points and 17 rebounds in the loss.

Jokic outduels Wembanyama, Nuggets top Spurs to stay hot

Nikola Jokić put up 31 points as the Denver Nuggets continued their strong recent stretch with a 117-106 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in a game played in the Texas capital of Austin.

Jokic finished 13 of 19 from the field while adding seven rebounds and five assists to outshine Spurs rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama, who was held to 17 points on 4-of-12 shooting.

Jamal Murray accumulated 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to help Denver improve to 11-1 since the All-Star break. The defending NBA champions have won five straight games.

Jokic and the Nuggets imposed their will early on, as Denver closed out the first quarter on an 18-4 run to take a commanding 37-18 lead into the second. The two-time NBA MVP finished the period with 15 points.

The Spurs shot 60 per cent in the second quarter to close the gap to 58-49 at half-time, and got Denver's lead down to four when Zach Collins' jumper with 16.7 seconds left in the third quarter made the score 83-79.

Denver's Justin Holiday ended the third with a 3-pointer, however, and had another during a 9-1 run in the fourth that put the Nuggets up 101-84 with seven minutes to play.

The game drew a crowd of 16,223, the largest attended sporting event in the history of Austin's Moody Center.

San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama shrugged off Trayce Jackson-Davis' dunk after the Golden State Warriors ran out winners on Monday.

Jackson-Davis got the better of Wembanyama with just over a minute left of the fourth quarter, spinning the NBA draft's number one overall pick before finishing in style.

Wembanyama was left tumbling to the deck, and the Warriors went on to win 112-102.

But Wembanyama, who missed the Spurs' win over the Warriors at the weekend due to an ankle problem, is not overly concerned.

"Getting dunked on is nothing. It's part of the game," said the French youngster, fresh from finishing with 27 points and 14 rebounds.

"I dunk on a lot of people and a lot of people dunk on me too. But I think I block more often than I get dunked on, so that's positive."

Reflecting on the Spurs' performance, Wembanyama added: "Consistency is always [important], but today I think it's also responding to the physicality that they put [out]. We didn’t have a strong enough response."

Explaining his thought process behind the dunk, Warriors rookie Jackson-Davis said: "I saw that he overplayed it, and he overplayed it to my right.

"I'm left-handed. So, I think I spun or got to my left hand and then I had to step on him. I just tried him.

"I told Kevon [Looney] before the game that if I got the chance to try him, I would. At the end of the day, sometimes you dunk on people, sometimes you get dunked on. It's just a basketball play."

Monday's win saw the Warriors, who were without Stephen Curry, bounce back from back-to-back losses, with Golden State limiting the Spurs to just one point in the final stages of the fourth quarter.

"We weren't doing anything differently, just the effort and the connection," said coach Steve Kerr.

"If one guy is out of place and everybody's giving great effort, it still results in two points. I just felt we were better connected in the second half and as that went, we picked up some momentum."

Jonathan Kuminga led the Warriors with 22 points, with Klay Thompson adding 21, to go with a contribution of 19 from Chris Paul.

The San Antonio Spurs are not looking to change Victor Wembanyama, so says teammate Tre Jones.

Wembanyama recorded a stat line that had never been seen in an NBA game in the Spurs' 132-118 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.

The rookie sensation finished with 28 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, five blocked shots and five 3-pointers. He is the first player in NBA history with at least 10 boards, five assists, five blocks and five made 3s in a game.

And Jones says the Spurs are just letting Wembanyama do his own thing.

"I think just let him be him," Jones said. "We don't want to change that. Look where it's gotten him to this point."

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich added: "He obviously is not afraid to put himself out there.

"He will take shots and he is not afraid. He is not worried if he misses it or what the consequences are or anything like that. He likes those moments."

Wembanyama, meanwhile, channeled the words of the late, great Kobe Bryant.

"It's a lot [to do with] mentality," he said. "You know Kobe said to win a game, it mostly takes shots, big shots, because they don't call like any fouls.

"It's not as much the physical battle. Even though in defense it's 90 per cent effort, but offensively it's a lot of mental."

Wembanyama came out on top in the tussle of the rookies against Chet Holmgren, who finished with 23 points as the Thunder saw a six-game winning run come to an end.

"It's just another reminder that this is the NBA," Holmgren said.

"No team is in the NBA for no reason. No player is in the NBA for no reason. Any team can beat another on any given night regardless of record or anything. They came out confident. Part of that was them, part of that was us. We should be better [in] the next one. A lot of guys stepped up and hit big shots. Credit to them for coming ready to play."

Victor Wembanyama wants victories, not individual feats, after he joined Michael Jordan in the NBA record books.

Wembanyama became just the second NBA rookie, after Jamaal Tinsley in 2001, to post at least five points, five rebounds, five assists, five steals and five blocks in a single game. He is just the second player to have five blocks and as many steals in successive games, after the great Jordan.

However, his efforts proved fruitless for the San Antonio Spurs, who lost 113-108 to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.

Wembanyama finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, five steals and five blocks. He is just the 15th player in the NBA to record a 5x5.

But for the overall number one draft pick, wins are the priority.

"To me, it's secondary," Wembanyama said. "Hopefully in the future, and think this is a good performance, but as of today, I can't be satisfied with a loss."

LeBron James returned from injury to score 30 points for the Lakers, while Anthony Davis had 28 points and 13 rebounds.

"Of course it was challenging [going against] one of the best duos in the league," Wembanyama said of facing two of the NBA's star players.

"But still, I think it's a lot of teams we beat if we play this way.

"But I think it came down to maturity at the end because each and every one of us was making a mistake each of the times.

"Little mistakes, missing a layup, turning the ball over. We went down, we went back to down four, down seven multiple times and that's when we did mistakes. So yeah, it's maturity."

Even though the Spurs have lost 10 of their last 11 games, James believes the sky truly is the limit for Wembanyama.

"He doesn't have a ceiling," James said.

"He can do whatever he wants to do with his career. It seems like he enjoys the game. It seems like he puts in the work. Just from the outside looking in, I'm not with him on a day-to-day basis, but I said a long time ago how special he was, and it's literally that simple.

"There are guys in our league that you have to account for any time you get around the rim or around the perimeter in our league history, and he sits right at the top of it, [if not] around the top, with all the greats.

"He's one of them to have like a stellar rookie season. Guys that have come in and [dominated]. But, it's, can you sustain it? We've had guys that have come in and [have] just been really damn [good]."

The Lakers returned to winning ways following their loss to the Golden State Warriors, but coach Darvin Ham was not entirely satisfied with the performance.

"You want your team to constantly look within and try to make plays and force the other team to put you in uncomfortable positions," Ham said.

"Not you put yourself in those uncomfortable positions, whether it's not sprinting back in transition or allowing teams to get two or three offensive rebounds. Or, you know, fouling because we're not in position because we're not doing our work early. And then going down the other end and not trusting the execution.

"We've got a bunch of weapons, but they're useless if we don't do the little things, sprinting hard when we get the ball in transition, not turning it over, maintaining spacing, making sure we get hits on screens to create an advantage and making the simple, easy play."

The Golden State Warriors and coach Steve Kerr have agreed to a two-year, $35 million contract extension that will make him the highest-paid coach in NBA history, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Friday.

The new deal will pay Kerr, who has guided the Warriors to four NBA championships, $17.5 million a year.

His current deal was set to expire at the end of this season.

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich makes more annually, according to sources, but he also serves as the team’s president. Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra signed an eight-year extension that pays him approximately $15 million a season.

Kerr, 58, is in his 10th season as coach of the Warriors and holds a career regular season record of 501-264 and is 99-41 in the playoffs. He won his 500th game last week to become the fifth-fastest coach to do so in history.

Toronto Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said teams must learn how to get to grips with Victor Wembanyama after the number one draft pick excelled in a win for the San Antonio Spurs.

The Spurs ran out 122-99 winners over the Raptors on Monday.

Wembanyama starred with a triple-double, entering the NBA record books in the process.

With a triple-double of 27 points, 14 rebounds, 10 blocks and five assists.

The 20-year-old became just the fifth player to record a triple-double that includes 25 points, 10 rebounds, 10 blocks and five assists since 1973-74, when blocks became an official statistic.

Wembanyama joined Hakeem Olajuwon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, David Robinson and Ralph Sampson on that exclusive list, and Raptors boss Rajakovic believes teams will have to adapt to the rookie's stature in skill in the years to come.

"Wembanyama is the player who's going to play in this league for the next 15 years. We need to figure out how to attack and how to play against him," Rajakovic said.

"Definitely a player who's unique with his size and shot-blocking ability. We've got to do a much better job of figuring out how to play against that."

"I felt great today," Wembanyama said after becoming the fourth San Antonio player to record 10 blocks in a game. 

"Great rhythm, started the game strong. I guess it's just the NBA, you know. We've got ups and downs in terms of shape, and today was an up day."

"He did a little bit of everything," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Wembanyama, who leads the league in blocked shots, and is now the first rookie with 150 blocks, 150 assists and 50 steals in a season since Tim Duncan in 1997-98.

"Obviously he's an all-around, talented player. He's got a great feel for the game and it shows in a variety of ways, whether it's passing or making decisions, blocking shots."

The Los Angeles Clippers must be able to replicate their regular-season form in the playoffs if they are to prove themselves as the real deal, so says Kawhi Leonard.

Leonard led the Clippers with 26 points in a blowout 115-96 victory over the NBA-leading Boston Celtics on Saturday.

That marked the Clippers' fifth straight win, as they improved to a league-best 22-4 run since the start of December.

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue labelled the road trip to Boston, who dealt his team a 145-108 defeat back in December, as a "measuring stick".

By any measurement, their response was emphatic, but Leonard has urged his teammates to remember that it is the postseason that really matters.

"I'm happy that we were able to come in and give the Celtics a loss," Leonard said.

"But it really doesn't mean nothing until you get to the playoffs and you're doing the things we did tonight – executing, making shots, playing good defense.

"It's good that we had carryover from last night coming from Toronto and winning these back-to-back games. But you got to just keep getting better as the year goes on."

James Harden, meanwhile, cited Saturday's display as the Clippers' best performance of the season.

"Against a team that was playing really, really well, especially at home, we've still got some ways to go, but this is a good test for us," he said.

Lue added: "The guys were pretty motivated. When they came to L.A., they did us pretty bad. So, the guys were locked in.

"Just a measuring stick against a great team. We just wanted to kind of see where we're at. We had that on our mind."

The Clippers are third in the Western Conference, two wins behind the Minnesota Timberwolves, who suffered a surprise defeat to the San Antonio Spurs.

Victor Wembanyama starred with 23 points and 10 rebounds as the Spurs - rooted to the bottom of the West - clinched a 113-112 victory.

"This is the best win we've had," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, whose team trailed by 15 points before hitting back.

Wembanyama added: "It is definitely a good one and I think tonight we have to feel proud about what we did and get used to the feeling so we can repeat it."

Devin Vassell, who led the Spurs with 25 points, said: "I think we're just growing and maturing.

"There would be times where teams go on a run and we put our heads down and almost get defeated already. Basketball is a game of runs. So right now, we've just been sticking with it. We've been playing 48 minutes."

Joel Embiid praised his teammates and reflected on a memorable night after setting a Philadelphia 76ers' franchise record with 70 points in a dominant performance against the San Antonio Spurs.

Embiid powered the Eastern Conference contenders to a 133-123 win on Monday, breaking Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain's team single-game record that had stood for over 56 years while also setting a season high with 18 rebounds. 

The reigning NBA MVP finished 24 of 41 from the field and 21 of 23 from the foul line.

Chamberlain's previous franchise record of 68 points took place against the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 16, 1967.

"Obviously, Wilt accomplished everything in the history of this league and basketball in general," Embiid said, per ESPN. "So to be in the same conversation, that's pretty cool.

"It was just a great night.

"I had it going. I mentioned a few times, a lot of teammates are extremely unselfish and they just kept giving me the ball, and I just finished it."

Embiid began his historic night with 24 points in the first quarter and had 34 by half-time, though the 76ers held a slim 62-58 lead at the intermission.

The superstar centre didn't let up in the third quarter, as he recorded 25 points for the period to help Philadelphia pull away for its sixth straight victory.

There was a prospect of Embiid being rested for the remainder of the game if the Sixers built a big lead, but the Spurs kept it close enough for him to re-enter midway through the fourth quarter to a huge reception from the fans.

He hit the 70-point mark with a steal and layup with 1:41 remaining.

"The game was still pretty close," Embiid said. "Felt like I needed to go back in. Once I got back in, I was like, 'There’s my chance. Might as well go and do it'.

"The only thing I told my teammates was please just don't force it. Let's just play basketball. If I'm open, pass it, if I'm not, make sure you make the right play.

"I feel like when you take 40 shots, obviously, you are supposed to have a big night.

"I was actually mad at myself, because I missed a lot of easy shots that I've been making all season. A lot of easy pull-ups.

"But when you're shooting that many shots, which I never thought I would be taking that many shots in my life, you're obviously going to make some, and you're going to have a big night."

The crowd were desperate for Embiid to take the record, urging him to shoot at every opportunity and he smiled as he recalled the fans booing Danuel House Jr. for taking an open corner 3.

He added: "It's unfortunate Danuel House got booed for [making the right play]! We were just trying to play the right way and make the right plays. 

"Obviously I made shots and they found me a lot."

Victor Wembanyama had an impressive game of his own in Embiid's shadow, as the Spurs' rookie sensation posted 33 points and seven rebounds in just 28 minutes.

Embiid is now averaging 36.1 points this season – better than he posted in his MVP-winning campaign.

Coach Nick Nurse realised something special was in the works early in the third quarter.

"The time that it kind of hit me, I thought, was the start of the third," he said. 

"I think he had a bucket and an and-1, like in the first minute. I was like, 'Wait a minute, he's already got like 37, 38, something like that'. I was like, 'Geez, that's a lot, with a whole half to go!'

"Obviously, he can score in so many ways, just his sheer size gets him a lot of stuff around the basket, gets him a lot of free throws.

"The shooting touch is the skill part. The way he moves, the skill he has, the size he is. If he gets motivated like that, anything can happen."

Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey had 18 points and eight assists in support of Embiid.

"He's great," Maxey said about Embiid. "I keep telling everybody, we cannot take this for granted. 

"Not just as teammates, not as an organization, but as fans – even if you are not a fan of Philadelphia, if you're just a fan of basketball, you can't take Jo for granted, man. What he's doing right now is special. 

"He's not just doing it off layups, he's not doing it off just 3s. He's doing it off every single thing. He's making free throws. He's doing so much out there.

"And you know, the kicker is he's on the other end, he's anchoring the defense as well. He's not taking any nights off on defense.

"We appreciate him, and everybody else should appreciate him, as well."

Joel Embiid set a new Philadelphia 76ers scoring record after plundering 70 points in a 133-123 victory over San Antonio Spurs.

Embiid, who had 34 points to his name by half-time, is just the ninth player in NBA history to reach 70 points in a single game.

The 29-year-old forward’s feat came 18 years to the day since Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game for the Los Angeles Lakers – the second highest in NBA history.

Embiid told the NBA’s official website: “From the time I started playing, Kobe was my guy. He’s the reason why I started playing basketball.

“It’s funny, on the same night, he got 81 and that was my favourite player.”

Although he bettered the Sixers’ previous best of 68, held by Wilt Chamberlain, Embiid remains some distance short of Chamberlain’s remarkable NBA record of 100 points in a single game set in 1962 when playing for the Philadelphia Warriors.

Embiid’s feat came on the same night as Karl-Anthony Towns set a new Minnesota Timberwolves high of 62 points in a 128-125 defeat by Charlotte Hornets.

Joel Embiid set a Philadelphia 76ers' franchise record with 70 points in a dominant performance that powered the Eastern Conference contenders to a 133-123 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday.

Embiid broke Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain's team single-game record that had stood for over 56 years while also setting a season high with 18 rebounds. The reigning NBA MVP finished 24 of 41 from the field and 21 of 23 from the foul line.

Chamberlain's previous franchise record of 68 points took place against the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 16, 1967.

Embiid began his historic night with 24 points in the first quarter and had 34 by half-time, though the 76ers held a slim 62-58 lead at the intermission.

The superstar centre didn't let up in the third quarter, as he recorded 25 points for the period to help Philadelphia pull away for its sixth straight victory.

Kelly Oubre Jr. capped a 12-4 run with a 3-point play with 6:38 left in the third to stretch the lead to 85-72, and the Sixers maintained a double-digit advantage for nearly the entire rest of the way.

Embiid re-entered the game midway through the fourth quarter and hit the 70-point mark with a steal and layup with 1:41 remaining.

Victor Wembanyama had an impressive game of his own in Embiid's shadow, as the Spurs' rookie sensation posted 33 points and seven rebounds in just 28 minutes.

Devin Vassell added 22 points for San Antonio, which had snapped a four-game losing streak with Saturday's 131-127 win over the Washington Wizards.

Timberwolves lose to Hornets despite Towns' team-record 62 points

Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns had a prolific record-setting performance of his own Monday, though his 62 points still weren't enough to prevent the Timberwolves from a stunning 128-125 home loss to the Charlotte Hornets.

The Hornets, currently in 13th place in the Eastern Conference, overcame an 18-point deficit late in the third quarter to shock the Western-leading Timberwolves and win for the second time in three games.

Towns made 10 of 15 attempts from 3-point range and ended 21 of 35 overall from the field to surpass his own Timberwolves' single-game record of 60 points, set against San Antonio on March 14, 2022.

The three-time All-Star had 58 points through three quarters as Minnesota owned a seemingly comfortable 107-92 lead, but the Hornets hit five 3-pointers while opening the fourth on a 21-7 run to quickly pull to within one.

Minnesota was clinging to a 121-120 edge with 3 1/2 minutes left before Charlotte scored six straight points, capped by Brandon Miller's jumper off a LaMelo Ball steal that gave the Hornets a 126-121 advantage with two minutes to play.

Miller scored seven of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, while Miles Bridges had 28 points for the Hornets and Ball compiled 18 points and 13 assists. 

The Timberwolves have lost back-to-back games for just the second time this season, previously doing so from Jan. 1-3.

Merrill's hot shooting gives Cavaliers' eighth straight win

The Cleveland Cavaliers remained the league's hottest team by rolling to a 126-99 rout of the Orlando Magic to extend their winning streak to eight games.

Sam Merrill went 8 of 13 from 3-point range to lead Cleveland with 26 points, while Donovan Mitchell had 25 points along with 13 assists in a game the Cavs never trailed and were up by as many as 36 points.

Merrill scored 20 of his points in the first half as Cleveland cruised to a 72-47 lead at half-time. The Cavaliers shot 59.5 per cent for the first two quarters and 59.1 per cent in the third to move into the fourth holding a commanding 107-74 advantage.

Paolo Banchero led the struggling Magic with 18 points and Franz Wagner added 17. Orlando has now lost nine of its last 13 games and is 7-14 since Dec. 15.

The Milwaukee Bucks expect to have Giannis Antetokounmpo back on the court soon, but coach Adrian Griffin wants his team to learn from their humbling defeat without the two-time former MVP.

Antetokounmpo sat out Wednesday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers and saw the Bucks beaten 135-95 in his absence.

The superstar forward had played in each of Milwaukee's previous 29 games, although he was also on the injury report before Sunday's overtime win against the Sacramento Kings, scoring 27 points towards his seasonal average of 31.2 points per game.

While taking on an in-form Cavaliers team without Antetokounmpo was always likely to be a tough ask, Griffin offered the Bucks no excuses.

Indeed, he was particularly dismayed by the way in which Cleveland were allowed to race into a 22-2 lead less than halfway through the first quarter. Donovan Mitchell scored 12 of those 22 points on his way to 31 for the night.

"[It was a] tough night collectively," said Griffin, "but we've got to find the energy from the jump – especially being short-handed.

"You have to learn from this, because you can't allow this to happen again, especially at the start of the game.

"Before we looked up, we were down 20. We would literally come down and just shoot."

A big loss for the 28-13 Bucks allowed the 32-9 Boston Celtics to pull further clear at the top of the Eastern Conference, 117-98 victors over the San Antonio Spurs.

The Spurs' number one overall draft pick Victor Wembanyama scored 27 in his first game in Boston, but he was more impressed by the Celtics.

"Everybody can hoop on that team," said the French rookie. "Everyone's a threat on the court.

"But at the same time, they all know their roles, and they're all willing to share the ball, from the most important franchise guys to the role players.

"Everybody is ready to compete and to make the sacrifices."