MINNEAPOLIS — The 76ers were back on the road against a struggling team after a thriving home victory over an elite team.
Haven’t we seen this script before?
But instead of producing another letdown game, the Sixers rolled to a 118-94 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves Friday night at the Target Center.
The Sixers improved to 14-6 heading into Sunday’s road game against the Indiana Pacers. The Timberwolves dropped to 4-14.
Joel Embiid had another dominating performance.
He finished with 37 points and 11 rebounds before sitting out the fourth quarter. The big man actually had his sneakers off midway through the final quarter. Embiid went 16 of 18 from the foul line, making his first 16.
“He is having an MVP-type season,” Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders said, “just the things he does offensive and defensively.”
Tobias Harris added 17 points and 11 rebounds. Seth Curry (12), Ben Simmons (11) and reserve Shake Milton (13) also scored in double figures. Malik Beasley paced the Timberwolves with 22 points.
Embiid played after being listed as questionable with back tightness.
This came two days after landing hard on his back after being fouled by LeBron James during Wednesday’s victory over the Lakers.
Embiid participated in Friday’s shootaround, and Doc Rivers sad before the game that he expected the three-time All-Star to play. The Sixers just wanted to see how Embiid’s back felt after his pregame workout. He rode an exercise bike when subbed out of the game in the first half to keep his back loose and body warm. Embiid also appeared to have a heating pad on his back. He wore the heating pad while seated in a chair behind the basket when subbed out in the second half.
While he didn’t shoot the ball well, Embiid scored 21 of his points in the first half. He made just 4 of 12 shots, but went 12 for 12 from the foul line. His free throws were tied for the most by a player in either half during a game this season. (Trae Young made 12 in the second half versus the Detroit Pistons on Jan. 2).
Embiid followed that up by scoring the Sixers’ first eight points of the second half. Then after 3-pointers by Harris and Danny Green, he added a pair of foul shots. In all, Embiid scored 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting in the third quarter. With him leading the way, the Sixers took an 88-74 lead into the fourth quarter.
Rivers shared words about John Chaney at the start of his pregame media availability.
Chaney, the legendary Temple basketball coach, passed away Friday, at age 89. The Hall of Famer was the face of Temple University and icon, who did thing his way.
Rivers didn’t know Chaney very well, but had conversations with him.
“What stands out out to me, for all of us, for not only being a Black coach and his leadership, is the word coach,” Rivers said. “He was such a great teacher.
“Every time you talked to him, every time you heard him talk, it wasn’t just about basketball. It was about principle, it was a about teaching, it was a bout learning. You know that’s what a coach should be when you think about it. Coach in the dictionary is a teacher. I think John Chaney epitomized that as much as anyone.”
He led Owls to five appearances in the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. In all, Temple made 17 trips to the tourney under Chaney. He also led Cheyney University to a Division II national championship. Chaney, who retired in 2006, won a combined 741 games at Cheyney and Temple.
But Chaney was a father figure to his players. He offered them life lessons and related them to basketball. He was also known for his early morning practices, his fiery temper, and not backing down for what he believed in.
“I loved him as a man,” Rivers said. “I just loved how he carries himself. I loved how he fought for his team, his players, but also just the institution in a lot of ways. But he was so much more than a basketball coach.
“He really was a teacher, and a teacher of life. You know we don’t have a lot like that anymore.”
The Timberwolves had a moment of silence for Chaney before the game. They also had a separate one for Sekou Smith, a longtime NBA reporter and analyst, who died Tuesday of complications from COVID-19.
