AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
In a clash of titans, it was Zion Williamson left standing at the expense of Joel Embiid.
The New Orleans Pelicans superstar went off for 36 points and five rebounds against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night, leading his team to a 127-116 win.
New Orleans Pelicans @PelicansNBA
JOSE ➡️ ZION 💪#Pelicans pic.twitter.com/Zjdx2TsW5l
New Orleans Pelicans @PelicansNBA
Take it to em Z. pic.twitter.com/s9NPtFJapH
Bally Sports New Orleans @BallySportsNO
Z IS UNSTOPPABLE!!!💪@PelicansNBA | #Pelicans |📺:BSNO pic.twitter.com/qBKVdQPkWu
Embiid didn’t exactly roll over without a fight. The superstar center had a vintage performance of his own, putting up 37 points and eight rebounds while trying to will his team to a tough road victory.
But the one-two punch of Williamson and CJ McCollum (42 points, career- and franchise-high 11 threes) was too much to overcome. McCollum was shooting fireballs from beyond the arc all night long:
New Orleans Pelicans @PelicansNBA
NEW FRANCHISE RECORD 🚨
CJ McCollum with his 11th three of the game!
Up to 42 points 🔥 pic.twitter.com/JwQ0oRSHzr
New Orleans Pelicans @PelicansNBA
All 10 of CJ’s threes 🙌 pic.twitter.com/JfeKaIcwej
Unsurprisingly, NBA Twitter enjoyed every moment of the showdown:
Kyle Neubeck @KyleNeubeck
update: Zion with no Embiid on the floor has been a very bad time for Philly https://t.co/rJtxJSz7Gb
Amy Fadool Kane @amyfadoolNBCS
3J… I mean CJ McCollum with a career high 11 threes. pic.twitter.com/myirFGUrTJ
It was an incredibly impressive offensive showing from the Pelicans (23-12), especially without Brandon Ingram available because of a toe injury.
For the Sixers (20-14), meanwhile, it was a second straight loss after an impressive eight-game winning streak.
The good news for the Sixers was that star guard Tyrese Maxey returned after a lengthy layoff. The bad news was that he struggled in his return, coming off the bench to post just nine points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field in 19 minutes. Some rust was to be expected, however, after missing over a month.
It didn’t help that James Harden had a particularly odd game, offering up a 20-point, 10-assist double-double but also added seven turnovers on the evening and only attempted eight shots from the field.
It may not have mattered had he played better. This night clearly belonged to Zion’s bulldozing drives into the lane and McCollum’s sniper-scope precision. Had the Sixers played a perfect game, maybe they could have overcome that duo’s offensive fireworks.
But they didn’t play a perfect game, and they left New Orleans with a loss.
