Saturday 2 February 2019 07:41, UK
Joel Embiid has been named Eastern Conference Player of the Month for January with James Harden earning Western Conference honours for the second straight month.
This is the first time Embiid has received the honour and he becomes the first 76ers player to win the award since Hall of Famer Allen Iverson in April 2005.
The Sixers center joins Iverson (four times) along with Hall of Famers Charles Barkley (twice), Julius Erving (three) and Moses Malone (twice) as the only players in franchise history to receive the honour since its inception in 1979-80.
Embiid led the 76ers to an 11-4 month, including six wins over teams whose records are currently .500-or-better, four of which came on the road. The month saw Embiid average 29.2 points, 13.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.0 blocks per game, while shooting 48.8 per cent from the field and 80.4 per cent from the free-throw line.
Embiid matched his season high in points with 42 in addition to grabbing 18 rebounds at Phoenix on January 2, good for one of his Eastern Conference-best four games with at least 40 points and 10 rebounds. A week later (January 9), he would put up 34 points and 14 rebounds in a 17-point victory over Washington, marking the team's fourth straight win.
The Cameroon native then began a stretch from January 15-23 where he recorded four 30-10 games across five contests. Two of these performances came against a pair of Western Conference teams who are a combined 17 games over .500 in Houston and San Antonio. Against the Rockets (January 21), he had 32 points and 14 rebounds, while the 76ers' matchup with the Spurs (January 23) saw him lead all players in points (33) and rebounds (19).
Embiid wrapped up the month with 26 points and 20 rebounds on the road in a victory over Golden State that snapped Philadelphia's 10-game losing streak to the Warriors and provided the team with its first win in Oakland since December. 31, 2011. At the end of January, the recently named All-Star starter had totaled 11 double-doubles (tied for the most in the East), with five of them including 30-plus points.
Overall, Embiid holds season averages of 27.2 points, 13.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.9 blocks in 33.4 minutes per game, while shooting 48.5 per cent from the field and 80.2 per cent from the free-throw line. He leads the NBA with 42 double-doubles this season and has the second-most 30-point games in the league with 22.
Houston Rockets guard James Harden earned Western Conference Player of the Month honours for the second successive month and the seventh time in his career, all coming as a Rockets player. That is the most by any player in franchise history.
For the month, Harden averaged 43.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, 7.6 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.2 blocks. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that marked the seventh-highest scoring average in a single month in NBA history with a minimum of 10 games played. Wilt Chamberlain holds the top six spots.
Harden totaled 610 points, 122 rebounds, and 106 assists in January. According to ESPN, he became the fourth player with at least 600 points, 100 rebounds, and 100 assists in a single month. Dating back to 1972-73, Michael Jordan (March 1987) was the only other player to have scored 600-plus points in a single month. Harden joined Chamberlain (November 1961) as the only players to have scored at least 600 points in a single month while playing fewer than 15 games.
According to ESPN, Harden's scoring and points off assists accounted for an average of 61.9 points in January, making him the first player to average above 60 in a single month. Harden's combined points and points off assists generated at least 50 points in an NBA record 19 straight games from December 13 through January 19 per Elias.
Harden has scored 30-plus points in each of the past 24 games, which is the fourth-longest streak in NBA history. Chamberlain holds the top three streaks of 65, 31, and 25 games. Harden has also led the Rockets and their opponent in scoring in each of those 24 games, which is the second-longest streak in NBA history, according to ESPN. Chamberlain had a 40-game streak.
In addition, Harden has scored at least 35 points in each of the past 11 games. That is the fifth-longest streak in NBA history and the second-longest by a player not named Chamberlain. Kobe Bryant did so over a 13-game span during 2002-03. Harden has scored 35-plus points in 21 of the past 22 games (32 points vs. Denver on January 7).
Harden has scored 40-plus points 18 times in 47 games played this season. That is the most by a player through the first 47 games played in a season since Michael Jordan did so 23 times in 1986-87.
The Rockets opened the New Year with a win at Golden State on January 3. Harden had 44 points, 15 assists, and 10 rebounds while hitting a franchise-high tying 10 three-pointers, including the game-winning shot with 2.7 seconds left in overtime.
On January 11 vs. Cleveland, Harden had 43 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds in 29 minutes and 34 seconds of play. Per Elias, he became the first player in NBA history to record a 40-point triple-double while playing fewer than 30 minutes in a game.
Harden scored 58 points vs Brooklyn on January 16 after having 57 points in 34 minutes of play vs Memphis on January 14. He joined Chamberlain as the only players to have scored 55-plus points in consecutive games.
Harden scored a total of 261 points over a five-game span from January 14 through January 23. According to Elias, that was the second-highest five-game total over the past 50 seasons, trailing 268 points by Bryant in March of 2007. Harden averaged 52.2 points over those five games, tying for the second-longest stretch of averaging 50-plus points in NBA history. Chamberlain did so over a span of 116 games.
For the season, Harden is averaging 36.3 points, 8.1 assists, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.1 steals. He is on pace to become the first player to have averaged at least 35.0 PPG and 8.0 APG in a single season. Jordan (1988-89) is the only player to have averaged at least 30.0 PPG, 8.0 APG, 5.0 RPG and 2.00 SPG in a single season. Dating back to 1964-65, Jordan (37.1 PPG in 1986-97) is the only player to have averaged at least 36.0 PPG in a single season.
Harden was recently voted as a starter for the 2019 NBA All-Star Game. It is the third straight year that he has been named a starter.
