PHILADELPHIA (AP) – On Monday night, Joel Embiid led the Philadelphia 76ers to a 138-94 victory over LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers with 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists.

With two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Embiid—the current NBA MVP—scored his sixth triple-double of his career. Embiid had his first of the season and his eighth game with ten or more assists in his career.

The much-anticipated confrontation between Embiid and James never truly happened. James played 29 minutes and scored 18 points, but his efforts were insufficient to cut into the 76ers’ lead. With playoff play included, he has now played more minutes than any other player in NBA history.

For the 76ers, Tyrese Maxey scored 31 points. For the Lakers, Anthony Davis finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Despite Embiid missing the whole fourth quarter, the 76ers defeated the Lakers 40–14.

The 76ers started the game with a 3-point advantage and scored 13 points on 26 shots—a half-season high—to increase their lead to 25.

Maxey scored four. But the Sixers who weren’t Maxey or Embiid were left hanging by the Lakers. Marcus Morris Sr. went three for three, while Patrick Beverley made three in the first half. Embiid made a bury to lead 64–39.

In the first half, the Lakers missed seven of ten three-pointers.

Embiid stopped Davis with such force that the slap could be heard rows away from the court, with Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts observing from courtside.

Maxey attempted to bolster his candidacy for his first All-Star selection by scoring 20 points at the half. With 17, Embiid is attempting to win the scoring title for the third time in a row.

The 76ers wrapped up their 12th victory quickly.

When forward Paul Reed referred to Davis as “a big flopper,” they also received points for derogatory remarks.

“You know he’s going to be flailing,” Reed remarked during the shootout.

The question of why a backup pushed Davis puzzled both coaches.

“Guard him, I suppose. Lakers coach Darvin Ham wished Paul luck.

“I’m going to have to go talk to Paul about that immediately after this,” said 76ers coach Nick Nurse.

Not that it matters. Fouls and flops were never a major concern because the game was never competitive enough.

Following a two-game losing streak, the 76ers won their second straight and might soon welcome back Kelly Oubre Jr. Before suffering injuries in what was reportedly a hit-and-run incident, Oubre averaged 16.3 points over eight games. He took part in the shootaround and might travel with the 76ers for their next two road games.