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The marquee matchup between Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis ultimately lived up to expectations. Davis has arguably been the best player in the NBA over the past three weeks but was expected to be in a dogfight against Embiid.
After the game, basketball fans, who watched the overtime thriller between the LA Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers, sent in their thoughts on the matchup:
“AD can’t guard him it’s sad”
This one probably stung:
“ANTHONY DAVIS CLUTCH CHOKE”
Joel Embiid started like a house on fire that even Anthony Davis’ all-world defense could not put out. “The Process” scored 20 of his 38 points in the first 12 minutes of the game. He also forced Davis to commit two quick fouls inside the first four minutes to compromise the Lakers’ game plan on both ends of the floor.
Embiid had as many points as the entire Laker roster could muster when the first quarter ended 31-20. “JoJo” finished the first half with 25 points, while Davis put up a meek six points on just three shots. It seemed like Embiid would run away with the matchup early on.
Anthony Davis started the third quarter the same way as he committed his fourth foul with about nine minutes left in that period. With AD in foul trouble, the Lakers resorted to putting LeBron James and Thomas Bryant on Embiid.
The fourth quarter, however, was Davis’ turn to dominate. He exploded for 21 of the Lakers’ 37 points to nearly pull his lethargic team to a huge come-from-behind win. AD’s heroics went down in the last few seconds of the game when he stole an inbound pass intended for Joel Embiid.
Davis was fouled with 3.7 seconds remaining in the game, with the Lakers still trailing 120-119 against Philly. AD made the first free throw to tie the game but missed a potential game-winning second freebie.
Basketball fans were expecting more of the Embiid-AD slugfest in overtime.
The LA Lakers stopped going to Anthony Davis, while the Philadelphia 76ers kept Joel Embiid involved in overtime
![Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis went after each other in the LA Lakers versus Philadelphia 76ers game tonight [Photo: Silver Screen and Roll]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/12/a82e2-16706548819751-1920.jpg)
The Wells Fargo Arena just witnessed Anthony Davis blister the Philadelphia 76ers with Joel Embiid in the lineup for 21 fourth-quarter points. Bewilderingly, the LA Lakers went to AD just three times in the five-minute overtime period.
The 76ers eventually bludgeoned the Lakers with a 13-2 difference in the extra period, starting with an Embiid bucket. Even if “The Process” gave way to James Harden in overtime, he was at the center of everything the 76ers did.
Harden took over after regulation with nine points via several pick-and-roll plays with Joel Embiid. “The Beard” finished with 28 points and 12 assists to help Philly’s superstar center carry the team to victory.
For some reason, as they’ve done in previous games where they’ve lost, the Lakers almost stopped going to Davis.
The LA Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers will meet again for the second time on January 15. If both Davis and Embiid are healthy, NBA fans can expect another explosive encounter between two of the game’s best big men.
