Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns set franchise records, make NBA history with 60-plus points

Jan. 22 is a good night for NBA stars.

On Monday night, Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns scored 70 and 62 points, respectively. It marks the fourth time in NBA history that two players scored 60 or more points on the same night. Both efforts set new franchise records.

The other times when two players scored 60-plus points on the same day were April 9, 1978, (David Thompson had 73 for the Denver Nuggets, George Gervin had 63 for the San Antonio Spurs as they dueled on the season’s final day for the scoring title), Jan. 17, 1962, (Jerry West scored 63 for the Los Angeles Lakers, Wilt Chamberlain scored 62 for the Philadelphia Warriors) and Dec. 8, 1961 (Chamberlain had 78 for the Warriors and Elgin Baylor had 63 for the Lakers in a triple-overtime game against one another).

Embiid's Philadelphia 76ers captured a 133-123 win over the San Antonio Spurs and Victor Wembanyama. The rookie sensation was the Spurs' leading scorer with 33 points and had seven rebounds in the losing effort. It's his second-highest points total this season.

The Minnesota Timberwolves lost, 128-125, to the Charlotte Hornets. Miles Bridges scored 28 points and rookie Brandon Miller added 27 for the Hornets win, despite Towns' historic performance.

NBA scoring king LeBron James congratulated both stars on X, formerly Twitter.

"70 PIECE NUGGET!!!!" James said of Emiid's outing with a series of fire emojis and a salute. "CRAZY"

The Los Angeles Lakers veteran also pointed out Towns' 58 points at the end of the third quarter, including going 10-for-12 from the 3-point line.

"These boys tonight going CRAZY!!" he said with laughing emojis.

On the same date 18 years earlier, Kobe Bryant scored 81 points for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Toronto Raptors.

Joel Embiid passes Wilt Chamberlain for 76ers scoring record

Joel Embiid scored a career-high 70 points and added 18 rebounds and five assists on Monday night. The points total passes Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain and is the 76ers' franchise record for most points in a game.

He joins Michael Jordan as the only player in NBA history to notch 65 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in a single game.

"Wilt never did this?" Embiid said after the game. "I don't believe this."

Embiid's previous career-high was 59 points, which he scored against the Utah Jazz in Nov. 2022.

Chamberlain's 76ers record was 68 points in a game against the Chicago Bulls in 1967. The basketball legend had five games where he scored 70 or more points for the then-San Francisco Warriors and Philadelphia Warriors. He holds the record for most points in a game with 100 in a 1962 matchup against the New York Knicks.

Embiid was named last season's MVP after averaging 33.1 points and 10.2 rebounds per game with a 54.8 shooting percentage. It was his first time being voted MVP after finishing second in the voting two years in a row.

Karl-Anthony Towns scores 62 points for new Timberwolves record

Karl-Anthony Towns had a stellar night of his own, scoring 62 points for the Timberwolves' new franchise record. He shot 21-of-35 with 10-of-15 in three-point shots and was 10-of-14 in free throws.

In the first half, he had 43 points and was 8-for-9 in three-point shots. He started a perfect 8-for-8. It was the fourth-most points scored before the break in league history since the NBA started tracking plays in the 1997-98 season.

Per Associated Press reporter Tim Reynolds, Towns' final tally of at least 11 two-point shots, 10 three-point shots and 10 buckets from the charity stripe makes him the first player to ever do so.

The three-time All-Star bested his own mark for the team's most points in a game. He previously scored 60 points in a game against the San Antonio Spurs in March 2022. Towns also holds the No. 3 spot from when he scored 56 points in March 2018 in a matchup against the Atlanta Hawks.

Towns is the seventh player in the NBA record book to have multiple 60-point games. He joins Chamberlain, Bryant, Jordan, Damian Lillard, James Harden and Elgin Baylor.

Contributing: The Associated Press