The Minnesota Timberwolves, the worst team in the Western Conference, accumulated their third consecutive loss against the Philadelphia 76ers, the best team in the Eastern Conference, by losing 94-118 in a game dominated by the efficiency of center Joel Embiid who scored 37 points. and 11 rebounds.

The Timberwolves still can’t find an answer to the Philadelphia 76ers: in the last seven games these two teams have played, the Philadelphia team have taken all of them counting Friday night.

With some 76ers in a state of grace, trying to stop Embiid seemed difficult from the start, especially since the Wolves still do not have their main star and tall man, Karl Anthony Towns, after contracting COVID-19.

The Wolves are suffering from the absence of KAT: Of the 18 games the Wolves have played since the start of the season, Towns has only been able to play four. And without KAT, the Timberwolves have won 2 games and lost 12. In addition to Towns, the Minnesotans still do not have the Spanish high forward Juancho Hernangómez, who is absent due to the NBA’s health protocols for covid-19.

And the other Spaniard on the team, point guard Ricky Rubio, still can’t find his rhythm with Minneapolis, which was evident again against the 76ers. The game started with equality thanks to the poor aim of the Philadelphia team.

The 76ers needed nearly four minutes to score their first basket, allowing the Wolves to get 7 points ahead on the scoreboard midway through the first quarter. When Rubio entered the court to replace D’Angelo Russell with 4 minutes remaining in the first quarter, the score was 22-19 in favor of Minnesotans.

But four consecutive points from Embiid put the 76ers ahead 22-23. The first quarter ended 25-25, with 11 points for Embiid, and 6 rebounds, and 6 points for Tobias Harris for the Sixers. Meanwhile, Russell was the most effective in the Wolves, with 9 points, followed by Malik Beasley, with 7 points and 2 rebounds, and Rubio with 4 points and 1 rebound.

The second quarter also showed great equality. Rubio’s men regained the lead on the scoreboard in the first two minutes (30-27) and stayed ahead until shortly before the break. But Embiid began to crush the defense of the Minnesotans, who could not find a way to stop him.

The break was 48-52 in favor of Philadelphia. In the second quarter, the Philadelphia center accumulated another 10 points and 2 rebounds, while the reserve Tyrese Maxey completed five minutes of 100% accuracy with 3 shots of 3, which earned him 6 points.

The Wolves noted the scoring slump from Russell, just 2 points in the second quarter, and Rubio, who stayed at 0 after playing 6.32 minutes. Only Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt held the guy with 5 points each. But the game ended with a disastrous third period for Minnesotans, who relaxed their defense and allowed Embiid to shine.

The center had 16 points and 3 rebounds in the 9.56 minutes he played in the third period. With no response to Embiid’s success, the Wolves began to sink. The third period ended 74-88, a 14-point lead for the Sixers and no hint that Minnesotans could recover. The last 12 minutes confirmed the forecast.

The Sixers accumulated 30 new points in the fourth quarter compared to 20 for the Wolves, whose top scorer was Beasley, with 22 points and 5 rebounds, followed by Anthony Edwards, with 15 points and 4 rebounds. Rubio was content with the 4 points he made in the first quarter, 2 rebounds, and 4 assists.

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