Maxey, Embiid star as 76ers thrash Lakers in NBA

The reigning NBA MVP, Embiid notched his sixth career triple-double with two minutes left in the third quarter on Monday night. It was his first of the season and his seventh career game with 10-plus assists.

Embiid's anticipated showdown with James never really materialised. James scored 18 points in 29 minutes but nothing he did could make a dent in the 76ers' lead. He has now played more minutes than any player in NBA history, with playoff time included.

Tyrese Maxey scored 31 points for Philadelphia, while Anthony Davis had 17 points and 11 rebounds for LA.

Embiid, making a run at his third straight scoring title, sat out the entire fourth quarter and the Sixers still outscored the Lakers 40-14.

The home side opened the game three-point happy and hit 13, a season high for a half, on 26 shots that let them stretch the lead to 25.

All-Star hopeful Maxey hit four, while the Lakers missed seven of 10 triples in the half.

Philadelphia won their second straight after a two-game losing streak to improve to 12-5 and the Lakers fell to 10-8.

James, who didn't even grab a rebound, had never endured such a lopsided defeat like this with their worst loss to the 76ers in 290 games in the series.

"What needs to change in order for that to not happen again? A lot," James said, without elaboration.

Elsewhere, the struggling Portland Trail Blazers held on to defeat the Indiana Pacers 114-100 and the Washington Wizards beat the Detroit Pistons 126-107 for just their third win in 17 games.

Rookie Keyonte George scored 19 points and hit a key 3-pointer to help guide the Utah Jazz to a 114-112 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, while in Los Angeles the Denver Nuggets beat the Clippers 113-104.

Reggie Jackson had 35 points and 14 assists for the Nuggets, while Kawhi Leonard registered 31 points and eight rebounds.

Australian Associated Press