The Best of the Day: February 19th, 2021

Joel Embiid and Jamal Murray each dropped a career-high 50 points

Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Denver’s Jamal Murray were simply unstoppable Friday night. Embiid’s monster 50-point, 17-rebound double-double propelled the 76ers past the Bulls while Murray’s 50-point outing came on an absurd 21-for-25 from the floor and 8-of-10 from 3, helping the Nuggets dispatch the Cavaliers.

Jamal Murray (21/25 FG, 50 pts) and Joel Embiid (17/26 FG, career-high 50 pts) both scored "half a hundred" tonight.

They are the first NBA pair with 50+ points on 65%+ shooting on the same day since the Suns' Tom Chambers and the Knicks' Patrick Ewing on 3/24/1990.

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) February 20, 2021

With his 76ers in first place in the East, Embiid has played himself into the MVP conversation, if not the favorite to take home the honor. He is averaging 30.5 PTS and 11.0 REB per contest with an efficient 54.7 FG% and a ridiculous 40.0 3P%. If he keeps up this level of production and Philadelphia keeps winning, Embiid very well could be the first center to win the MVP award since Shaquille O’Neal did so in 2000.

Joel Embiid tonight:

50 PTS (career-high)
17 REB
5 AST
2 STL
4 BLK

He is the first Sixer with a 50/15/5 game since Wilt Chamberlain in 1968. pic.twitter.com/mUn4TK52Ix

— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 20, 2021

Meanwhile, Murray’s performance set NBA records for the highest eFG% (100.0) in a 50-point game and the first 50-point game with no free throw attempts. He also set the Nuggets franchise record for most career 50-point games (3). While that production isn’t sustainable, the young and talented Nuggets will need a consistent level of play from Murray if they are to unleash their full potential and make a deep run in the stacked Western Conference.

Jamal Murray was 🔥 tonight:

✅ 50 PTS
✅ 6 REB
✅ 21-25 FG
✅ 8-10 3P
✅ 0-0 FT

His 100.0 eFG% is the highest in NBA history in a 50-point game.

He is also the first player in NBA history to record a 50-point game without making a free throw. pic.twitter.com/ln2KAF33eH

— Justin Kubatko (@jkubatko) February 20, 2021

Including the playoffs, Jamal Murray has 3 career 50-point games, the most in Nuggets history (must include playoffs for this note).

Murray joins Bradley Beal (Jan. 6) as the only players with 20 points in the paint and 20 points from three-point range in a game this season. pic.twitter.com/fm8eFrfuUf

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 20, 2021

Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic are the 3rd pair of teammates age 25 or younger to each score 50 points in a game in the same season in NBA history

They joined Jerry West and Rudy LaRusso in 1961-62 with the Lakers and Jim Jackson and Jamal Mashburn in 1994-95 with the Mavericks pic.twitter.com/LdMoBkw1HE

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 20, 2021

The Nuggets had multiple players score 20+ points in a 1st half (Michael Porter Jr, Jamal Murray) for the first time since December 8, 2006 against the Heat.

Carmelo Anthony and JR Smith did it that day. pic.twitter.com/STo5pOqdwt

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 20, 2021

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