The chase for the NBA scoring title is on as the regular season nears its end.
On Tuesday night, Joel Embiid scored 45 points against the Pacers to surpass LeBron James as the league’s leading scorer.
Embiid currently averages 30.424 points per game, while James now sits in second place with 30.268 points per game. Giannis Antetokounmpo is in the third spot 30.078 points per game. Embiid raised his average by 0.2 after his Tuesday performance.
Embiid’s 45 points were his second-highest output of the season. He scored 50 points on Jan. 19 against the Magic.
The last center to win the scoring title was Shaquille O’Neal back in 2000. Embiid is now on track to end that drought this year as he battles for MVP honors with reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, a two-time MVP in Antetokounmpo and others. He would be the first center with at least a 30-point average since the NBA merger, according to StatMuse.
James has missed four of the last six games, and he will need to play in at least two more games to qualify for the scoring title. Since James didn’t play in Tuesday night’s Lakers game, he will need to play in two of the last three games on their schedule before their regular season ends on April 10.
The Sixers currently sit in third place in the Eastern Conference standings.
