The Philadelphia 76ers (29-13) got their first look at Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs (8-35). Joel Embiid took it to a new stratosphere as the Sixers won by a final score of 133-123.

Let’s break down the Sixers' win and Embiid's career game.

76ers player notes:

Joel Embiid: 70 points, 18 rebounds, 5 assists, 24-41 FG shooting

With one of the best young defenders in the league meeting him at the apex of his jump-shot release and giving him a good fight, Embiid still had 34 in the first half, a new career-high for any half. Although it took him more time to ramp up his jumper, it was working all night. The Spurs had no answers for his size at the basket, watching as he turned garbage into gold repeatedly. Few players have made a shot look as Easy as Embiid's jumpers at the nail.

Embiid is as graceful as he is forceful when it comes to getting buckets. He now owns the 76ers franchise record in points in a game. We're witnessing, without exaggeration, one of the very best seasons ever.

Tyrese Maxey: 18 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, 7-15 FG shooting

Maxey didn’t have as much room to do his thing with Embiid being so dominant. But he still had himself a fine game, displaying some fantastic chemistry with K.J. Martin and dexterity on his finishes at the hoop.

Spurs player notes:

Victor Wembanyama: 33 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 10-19 FG shooting

Wemby didn’t exactly hold his own in his first game in Philly — but he still impressed. He was a nightmare to deal with on offense, using his incredible size and intelligence away from the ball to score while taking care of business at the foul line. The superstar in the making would have been the headliner any other night.

Game recap:

1st half

The 76ers came into their first matchup against the gigantic French phenom on the heels of five straight wins but with a number of their role players still sidelined with injuries or illness. San Antonio, meanwhile, only has five wins in its last 20 games. But for this matchup, the headline was Wembanyama vs. Embiid. The paltry Spurs are looking to grow Wemby into the centerpiece of their next great team. A matchup with one of the very best in the game — and a strong test in terms of physicality — generated a lot of intrigue.

The 76ers matched Nicolas Bautm with Wemby to start and had Embiid roam off of Jeremy Sochan. He made him pay by hitting an open corner triple, one of the four that San Antonio made in as many tries to start the game. Wemby made two of them off the bounce and matched up with Embiid on the other end, denying him open jumpers with his Mr. Fantastic arms. Still, Embiid got two of his first three shots to fall.

After a timeout, the Sixers roared back and tied it up. They flipped the tables and made all of their shots while making sure the Spurs weren’t able to launch threes, with Tobias Harris even closing out very hard on Sochan, who shoots above average percentage-wise but isn’t a high-volume shooter. Wemby picked up his second foul of the game, resulting in a substitution. Embiid immediately put a foul on backup Zach Collins by fighting for inside position and going right up for a layup with his and Collins' arms still intertwined.

Danuel House Jr., Furkan Korkmaz and K.J. Martin were early subs with the 76ers' bench wrecked by absences. All the while, Embiid proved to be way too much to handle. He worked his tail off on the boards, fighting for and connecting on second-chance putbacks. The big man was swarmed heavily once he got the ball down low but still managed to throw a layup over his shoulder to make it 24 points on 8/12 shooting in the opening period.

Maxey linked up with Martin on a long alley-oop and drained a step-back three at the start of the second quarter. Wemby answered with some dazzling dunks. Philly tried to emulate the initial matchup with Harris on him and Paul Reed as the roamer but the results were not great. Fortunately for the Sixers, the Spurs are still managing Wemby's minutes due to a prior ankle injury, so his stint was short, allowing them to take a multi-score lead.

Wembanyama checked back in shortly after Embiid did. Reed came out briefly but came back in to pair with Embiid and be the muscle against Wemby. Embiid pump-faked the rookie into another shooting foul but he would not only learn from his mistake but start to get the Spurs back in it, leading a fast break with an assist to Blake Wesley on a layup and staying more disciplined on defense. He also finger-rolled a layup around Embiid nearly five feet away from the hoop.

As Kelly Oubre Jr. spat out missed dunks and Sochan spat missed threes, Embiid worked his way into his 21st straight 30-burger by the end of the half. The 76ers' plan to get him right into the paint worked wonders but the big man asserted himself on the boards and by making all 12 of his first-half free throws. A truly special, out-of-this-world performance was brewing.

At the half, the 76ers led 62-58.

2nd half

The 76ers opened the half with Embiid on Wembanyama. The Spurs did the same, resulting in Batum being able to tip a miss back home and Embiid going right through his chest and dunking it, resulting in a quick timeout. Wemby got him back by playing wide receiver, juking away from him off the ball and drawing a foul. He then used the late-hands technique to catch a pass in transition and immediately threw it in the basket.

Embiid continued to repeatedly say “weight room” with his performance by dominating in the paint with offensive boards and buckets. When the Spurs showed him multiple bodies, he dropped a dime for a cutting Oubre, who slammed a dunk through a Wembanyama foul. He made it to 50 points with just under five minutes left in the third quarter.

Offensively, the 76ers had all they needed. But they were not as sharp defensively. They fouled a bunch, including on multiple threes, as they toggled numerous defenders (Embiid, Harris, Oubre, Batum) on Wemby. Didn’t matter. Embiid got to 54 points with over four minutes left in the third quarter. The Spurs had absolutely nothing for him. Even as he chased his career-high, he made open passes to teammates, including to House for a corner three. He tied his career-high with a step-back three at the end of the third quarter.

With the 76ers by 15 at that point, it wasn’t a foregone conclusion that it would be another game where Embiid would sit out the fourth quarter. Maxey and Martin linked up for another lob as the Spurs looked to make a comeback. Wemby, Vassell and Tre Jones kept the pressure on and Doug McDermott even banked in a three. With 6:38 left, Philly led by 12.

Embiid checked back into the game to a roaring applause. He drew a foul on Sochan and hit both free throws, the first giving him a new career-high, and then added to it with a jumper. House took an open shot of his own and got booed before Embiid stepped into another nothing-but-net middie on the next possession, chasing Wilt Chamberlain’s franchise record of 68.

The big man hit just one of two technical free throws after getting leveled by Wesley to bring himself three points shy of the 76ers record. The Spurs cut the deficit into single digits, meaning Embiid's services were still needed in the final minutes. Embiid, with a chance to tie Wilt with a pair of free throws, made them both. He then scored a layup to get to 70, his final point count. The crowd in Philly went wild as he came out of the game.

Random tidbits:

  • Gregg Popovich still makes for an excellent quote. Not only did he crack hilarious jokes about telling Wemby to “hammer” Embiid and how the Spurs' 2005 Finals vs. the Detroit Pistons scared the league into making games higher scoring but he was also very insightful when it came to explaining the process of finding out what Wemby can do to become a superstar, mentioning his experiences with Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili.

The 76ers will begin a five-game road trip with a Thursday showdown against the Indiana Pacers.