It was a big night for big men in the NBA on Monday.
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid and Minnesota Timberwolves forward Karl-Anthony Towns combined to make rare NBA history with monster scoring games.
First, Embiid set a Sixers franchise record with 70 points in a 133-123 win over the San Antonio Spurs. Then, Towns broke his own Wolves franchise record with 62 points in a 128-125 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
It marked just the fourth time in league history where two players scored 60-plus points on the same night, and it had been more than four decades since it last happened.
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Embiid, who entered averaging an NBA-best 35 points per game, shot 24 of 41 from the field, 1-for-2 from 3-point range and 21 of 23 from the free throw line en route to his 70 points at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. He also added 18 rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block over 36:38 of action.
The reigning NBA MVP broke Wilt Chamberlain's previous Sixers record of 68 points and hit the 70-point mark on a fast-break layup inside the final two minutes of regulation.
NBA
Embiid became just the ninth different player in NBA history to score 70 points in a game, and he did so on the 18th anniversary of Kobe Bryant's legendary 81-point game.
The Process also joined Michael Jordan as the only players to tally at least 65 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in a game.
Towns, meanwhile, was on pace to top Bryant's 81-point outing through two quarters at the Target Center in Minnesota as he had a staggering 44 points at halftime. The three-time All-Star added 14 points in the third quarter to give himself a shot at 70.
But Towns struggled mightily in the fourth, where he shot 2-for-10 for four points. He broke his own franchise record of 60 on a drive to the rim inside the final six minutes of the game.
Towns shot 21-for-35 overall, 10-for-15 from deep and 10-for-14 from the free throw line, adding eight rebounds and two assists in 37:55 of playing time.
He made league history as the first player ever to make at least 10 2-pointers, 10 3-pointers and 10 free throws in a game.
