Wednesday night’s NBA game roster includes numerous intriguing clashes, from the east team facing the west team, the drama of James Harden’s return to Houston, the All-Stars facing Chicago’s Zach LaVine Bulls facing Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans, and two of the league’s top scorers facing off against Steph Curry against Damian Lillard.
In addition, 12 teams are ending the first half of the season, as the All-Star Weekend is fast approaching.
With so much action to keep an eye on, we asked our NBA insiders what the biggest lesson of the biggest games would be.
Embiid defends MVP for impressive Jazz
Anyone who watched a second of the Philadelphia 76ers’ 131-123 win in overtime on the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night could say the game meant something extra special to Sixers star Joel Embiid.
Embiid – who told ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan in December that he should have made an All-NBA team over Rudy Gobert last season, and has been campaigning to be the league’s Defensive Player of the Year – was dominant at both ends in Wednesday’s victory Monday, scoring 40 points with 19 rebounds, three assists, a steal and two blocks in 40 minutes.
In the attack, Embiid repeatedly fired Gobert from the inside, achieving his characteristic double-digit free-throw attempts and also several buckets on the edge. Meanwhile, on the defensive end, Embiid was flying, repeatedly breaking lobs for Gobert and, in one possession, contesting an impulse from Donovan Mitchell and then recovering quickly enough to block Gobert at the edge.
Embiid has said since before the start of the season that he is on a mission to prove that the lack of championship recognition he received last year was a mistake. Wednesday night was the most recent example of how successful this campaign was. And while Embiid may not win the Defense of the Year Player – in fact, Doc Rivers said before the game his teammate Ben Simmons should be at the top of people’s votes for this award – games like Wednesday’s are why Embiid is one of the favorites to be the NBA’s Most Valuable Player this season, and the Sixers enter the All-Star break with the best record in the Eastern Conference. – Tim Bontemps
Harden dominant on return to Houston
Nothing about James Harden’s return to the Toyota Center was so surprising. Harden received a mixed reaction from Rockets fans in the pandemic-sized crowd, while some shouted in thanks for his eight spectacular seasons in Houston and others booed, letting out Harden’s hurt feelings, which forced an exchange less than two months ago.
As he has done consistently since joining the Brooklyn Nets, Harden dominated, posting his eighth triple-double since the exchange with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists. And the Rockets lost 132-114, extending the franchise’s longest skid in two decades to 13 painfully suitable games, matching the number of Harden’s shirt that will one day hang from Houston’s rafters. – Tim MacMahon
Pacers’ McConnell sets record for theft
The Indiana Pacers facing the Cleveland Cavaliers was not a major confrontation, but Pacers guard TJ McConnell found a way to steal the spotlight. McConnell had nine steals in the first half, the maximum for any player in a while since the statistic became official in 1973-74.
McConnell ended with 10 steals for the game, a shy of the record, but had 16 points and 13 assists for an unusual triple-double in Indiana’s 114-111 victory.
Tonight, TJ McConnell recorded the 11th triple-double with steals since the steals became official in 1973-74. He is the first to do this outside the bank according to @EliasSports.
He is also the first Pacers player with an off-the-bench double triple since Detlaf Schrempf in February 1993 pic.twitter.com/u7LL1tPL1M
– ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 4, 2021
McConnell hit 8 of 8 on the field to become the first player to record 10 steals when shooting 100% of the field in a game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He had the highest percentage of field goal in a game with 10 or more steals, passing Michael Jordan (78% in 1988).
Double double triple for Detroit
Dennis Smith Jr. and Mason Plumlee are the second pair of teammates in Pistons history to record a triple-double in the same game, according to research by the Elias Sports Bureau.
Smith managed his triple-double by the smallest of the margins, with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Plumlee had 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Detroit beat the Toronto Raptors 129-105.
The other triple-double Pistons teammates in the same game were Donnie Butcher and Ray Scott, who did this in 1964.