The NBA schedule of Wednesday night games features plenty of intriguing matchups, from the top East team versus the top West team, the drama of James Harden’s return to Houston, All-Stars pitted against the Chicago Bulls’ Zach LaVine faces the New Orleans Pelicans’ Zion Williamson, and two of the league’s top scorers face off in Steph Curry and Damian Lillard meet.
In addition, 12 teams are completing the first half of the season as All-Star Weekend rapidly approaches.
With so much action to keep an eye on, we asked our NBA insiders for their biggest takeaway from the biggest games.
Embiid Makes MVP Case Through Amazing Jazz
Anyone who saw even one second of the Philadelphia 76ers’ 131-123 overtime win at the Utah Jazz on Wednesday evening could see that the game meant something extra special for 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 campaigned to become the league’s defensive player of the year – was dominant on both sides in the Wednesday’s victory, scored 40 points to go with 19 rebounds, three assists, a bargain and two blocks in 40 minutes.
On offense, Embiid shot through Gobert repeatedly and got his signature double digit free throw tries while also getting several buckets near the rim. Meanwhile, Embiid flew around on the defensive, repeatedly distributing lobs to Gobert and contesting a drive from Donovan Mitchell on one possession, then recovering quickly enough to block Gobert at the edge.
Embiid has said since before the season started that he’s on a mission to prove the lack of league-wide recognition he received last year was a mistake. Wednesday night was the last example of how successful that campaign has been. And while Embiid may not win Defensive Player of the Year – in fact, Doc Rivers said before the game that his teammate, Ben Simmons, should be at the top of the votes for that award – games like Wednesday are the reason why Embiid is one of the 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 dominantly in exchange for Houston
Nothing about James Harden’s return to the Toyota Center came as much of a surprise. Harden received a mixed response from Rockets fans in the pandemic-size crowd, as some cheered in appreciation for his eight spectacular seasons in Houston and some booed, exposing the fresh, hurt feelings of Harden who swapped less than two months ago. had been forced.
As he has consistently done since joining the Brooklyn Nets, Harden dominated, posting his eighth triple-double since the trade with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists. And the Rockets lost, 132-114, extending the franchise’s longest slip in two decades to a painfully fitting 13 games, matching Harden’s jersey number that will one day hang from Houston’s rafters. Tim MacMahon
Pacers’ McConnell Sets Record For Theft
The Indiana Pacers versus the Cleveland Cavaliers weren’t a matchup, but Pacers guard TJ McConnell found a way to steal the spotlight. McConnell had stolen nine times in the first half, the highest number of any player in one half since the statistic became official in 1973-74.
McConnell finished with 10 steals for the game, a shy of the record, but had 16 points and 13 assists for a very unusual triple-double in Indiana’s 114-111 victory.
Tonight, TJ McConnell recorded the 11th triple-double with steals since steals became official in 1973-74. According to him, he is the first to get rid of the bank @EliasSports
He is also the first Pacers player to triple-double off the bench since Detlaf Schrempf in February 1993. pic.twitter.com/u7LL1tPL1M
– ESPN statistics and info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 4, 2021
McConnell was knocked 8-for-8 off the field to become the first player to score 10 steals while shooting 100% off the field in a match, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He had the highest field goal percentage in a match with 10 or more steals, overtaking Michael Jordan (78% in 1988).
Double triple-double for Detroit
According to research from the Elias Sports Bureau, Dennis Smith Jr. and Mason Plumlee are the second pair of teammates in Pistons history to each record a triple-double in the same game.
Smith got his triple-double with the smallest margins, with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Plumlee had 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Detroit defeated the Toronto Raptors 129-105.
The other Pistons teammates with triple-doubles in the same game were Donnie Butcher and Ray Scott, who did it in 1964.