(Field Level Media) Joel Embiid scored 19 points in 20 minutes before being ejected for a third-quarter brawl with Karl-Anthony Towns to lead the host Philadelphia 76ers past the Minnesota Timberwolves 117-95 on Wednesday night.
Embiid led six Philadelphia players in double figures. Tobias Harris scored 18 points, Furkan Korkmaz had 17 and Ben Simmons added 16. Al Horford scored 12 points and grabbed 16 rebounds and the Sixers improved to 4-0, joining only the San Antonio Spurs as the league’s undefeated teams. James Ennis had 11 rebounds off the bench for the Sixers, who last won their first four games during the 2000-01 season.
Andrew Wiggins led the Timberwolves with 19 points, Jeff Teague added 15 and Towns had 13 before being ejected. Shabazz Napier also had 13 for Minnesota, which suffered its first loss in four games.
The Sixers were active on both ends of the court and built a 22-point lead in the first half before cruising to a 62-43 halftime advantage. Embiid led the Sixers with 13 points, including a deep 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left.
Towns paced the Timberwolves with 13, but they were outrebounded 32-13 in the first half.
The game turned ugly with 6:42 left in the third when Embiid and Towns became entangled and wrestled to the floor with numerous players and coaches joining in. Towns appeared to throw a punch as the players hit the floor. After an extensive review by league officials, Embiid and Towns both were ejected.
Fans chanted “MVP!” to Embiid as he left. The Sixers held a 77-55 lead when play was halted.
Philadelphia had a 92-78 advantage after the third quarter.
Korkmaz knocked down a 3-pointer and later added a dunk and the Sixers quickly pulled ahead 97-80 with 8:27 remaining in the fourth.
The Timberwolves missed their first nine shots of the fourth and fell behind 102-80 thanks to a 10-0 Sixers run.
After Minnesota closed within 104-89, Josh Richardson responded with a trey to extend the Sixers lead back to 18.
