NBA Scores 2017: Joel Embiid’s historic night against the Lakers never ended

Eleven NBA games were played Wednesday night, and I wish I could sit here with a straight face and say you didn’t miss anything, that basketball on Nov. 15 was nothing new. But that would be a lie, and we’re not in the business of fake news.

Wednesday night’s slate of hoops was packed with everything you could want from a night of NBA action. And without further ado, I’m going to shut up and get to it:

Embiid finished with 46 points on 13-of-20 shooting, but also picked up 15 rebounds, seven assists, and seven blocks in Philly’s win over the Lakers. Those are career-high points, assists, and blocks for the 76ers’ legendary big man. I could write about how many legends he joined or records he broke, but you could read about that here.

What’s more important is that you understand how he did it:

Embiid was so good, he left Lakers head coach Luke Walton speechless:

“Well, we thought [Julius Randle] did a nice job on him the first time, but he’s a handful down there, and obviously, you get a nice whistle, it makes it even more challenging,” Walton said. “Because every time there was some contact, it was two free throws, and he’s a heck of a shooter so it’s not like you’re gaining an advantage by sending him to the line.”

Then, Walton dove a little deeper:

“So we have a couple different coverages,” he explained. “One is to double from the baseline, but our rotational man didn’t get there in time. You’ve gotta be there on the flight of the pass, you have to be on your way so when he has baseline, he’s turning right into you. So we did not get there in time on that one. We doubled off the cutter one time, and when they saw us do that, they made the cutter J.J. Redick so they could space him back out as a shooter.

“So we tried a couple different things, but you’ve got to tip your hat. He’s a heck of a player. He’s hitting pull-up 18-footers. They used him as the man to enter the ball from the post, and he’s relocating to the strong side corner and hitting threes.

“So he’s ... He’s a ... He’s uhh ... He’s a problem,” Walton conceded. “Our guys played really hard tonight, and you’ve gotta give Philly a bunch of credit because they just kept hitting those shots down the stretch, and eventually we ran out of ours.”

If you read all of that, you probably have already ordered an Embiid jersey.

But also said no shots at Zo:

“Yeah I’m impressed. I heard that it has never been done in the league before. Wish I could have had the quadruple double with blocks. Shoutout Hassan Whiteside. But, I mean, I just went out there and played basketball.”

Simmons finished with 18 points, 10 assists, nine rebounds, and five steals. Only 47 other players — including LeBron James, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan — have posted that stat line in NBA history, and Simmons, 21, is the third-youngest player to do it behind James and John Wall.

And this is what Philly’s future looks like playing off one another:

Ball finished 1-of-9 from the field and 0-of-6 from three for just two points on the night. He is off to the worst start to a season in NBA history. But he should not stop shooting. More on that at SBNation.com/nba at approximately 8:30 a.m. ET.

Including this James hockey assist, essentially to himself:

Dwyane Wade’s bounce pass on the floor to Iman Shumpert:

And, of course, this James steal-and-stuff that virtually ended the game:

Almost.

Looks like we’re back at the park

First Magic head coach Frank Vogel touched Earth from a Damian Lillard jump shot:

Then we’ve got angry C.J. McCollum blowing kisses at Evan Fournier:

No idea what’s in the Portland water.

To the Hawks, who were 2-12 entering Wednesday night. Gotta love the NBA.

Hawks 126, Kings 80

Wizards 102, Heat 93

Knicks 106, Jazz 101

Pacers 116, Grizzlies 113

Timberwolves 98, Spurs 86

Raptors 125, Pelicans 116

Cavaliers 115, Hornets 107

Thunder 92, Bulls 79

Bucks 99, Pistons 95

Trail Blazers 99, Magic 94

76ers 115, Lakers 109