Tyrese Maxey scored a career-high 50 points and Joel Embiid collected 37 points and 13 rebounds to fuel the host Philadelphia 76ers to a 137-126 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday night.
Maxey made 20 of 32 shots from the floor — including 7 of 11 from 3-point range — to send the 76ers to their eighth straight victory. His point total eclipsed his previous career high of 44, set during Philadelphia’s 112-90 win over Toronto on Oct. 28, 2022.
Maxey capped his scoring onslaught with a step-back 3-pointer with 1:05 remaining in the fourth quarter. He finished with seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks on the night. Embiid highlighted his seventh straight double-double by scoring 19 points in the first quarter. The reigning NBA MVP finished 12 of 26 from the floor and 12 of 14 from the foul line.
Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton notched his eighth double-double in nine games by totaling 25 points and 17 assists. Myles Turner had 22 points and Buddy Hield added 16 off the bench for the Pacers, who saw their three-game winning streak come to a halt.
Grizzlies 105, Clippers 101
Desmond Bane poured in 27 points and Memphis held off a feverish rally from host Los Angeles to pick up a victory.
Memphis took an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter, but the Clippers stormed back, tying things at 84-84 when Paul George canned a 3-pointer with 6:38 left. The teams then traded punches and found themselves deadlocked at 98-all with 1:33 to go after James Harden connected from beyond the arc. But three free throws and a David Roddy layup gave the Grizzlies a five-point edge that they hung on to down the stretch.
Bane made 10 of 24 shots and added six assists for Memphis, which won for just the second time this season. George had a team-high 26 points for Los Angeles, which fell to 0-4 with Harden, who totaled 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting.
Mavericks 136, Pelicans 124
Kyrie Irving scored 35 points and Luka Doncic added 30 as visiting Dallas routed New Orleans.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 15 points, Josh Green had 13 and Dereck Lively II had 10 for the Mavericks, who led by as many as 29 points before the Pelicans reserves trimmed the deficit at the end.
Brandon Ingram scored 20 points, Zion Williamson had 18, Dyson Daniels scored 17 and Jonas Valanciunas had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Pelicans, who lost their fifth straight game.
Knicks 129, Hornets 107
RJ Barrett scored 24 points for New York, which completed a perfect homestand by routing visiting Charlotte.
Julius Randle had 23 points and Jalen Brunson scored 20 points for the Knicks, who went 3-0 against the Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs while outscoring them by 57 points combined.
Immanuel Quickley (17 points, nine assists) and Mitchell Robinson (10 points, nine rebounds) each flirted with double-doubles for the Knicks. LaMelo Ball scored a game-high 32 points for the Hornets, who have lost three of their past four games, and Nick Richards had 16 points off the bench.
Nets 102, Wizards 94
Mikal Bridges shook off a difficult shooting performance to score six of his 27 points in the final 2 1/2 minutes as Brooklyn made plays down the stretch in a victory over Washington in New York.
Bridges shot 11-for-29 and missed 12 of 14 3-point tries but helped Brooklyn end the game on a 15-2 run over the final 4:08. The Wizards gradually chipped away at a 17-point deficit and took a 92-87 lead on a Kyle Kuzma layup.
Rookie Bilal Coulibaly, a former teammate of Victor Wembanyama in France, led the Wizards with a career-high 20 points, including a 3-pointer that gave Washington its first lead at 85-82 with 6:44 left.
Bulls 119, Pistons 108
DeMar DeRozan had 29 points and host Chicago handed Detroit its eighth consecutive loss.
Nikola Vucevic supplied 21 points, 12 rebounds and four assists, while Zach LaVine had 19 points. The Bulls have won 16 of the past 17 meetings between the Central Division clubs.
Kevin Knox II led Detroit with 18 points. Knox was beginning his second stint with the franchise after signing as a free agent Wednesday. Cade Cunningham was held to a season-low 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting from the field. The Pistons haven’t won since they defeated the Bulls on Oct. 28.
Rockets 107, Nuggets 104
Fred VanVleet scored a season-high 26 points, Alperen Sengun added 23 and Houston extended its winning streak to six games by slipping past visiting Denver.
Houston recorded 31 bench points to complement VanVleet and Sengun, who added eight rebounds and five assists to his ledger in a riveting battle with superstar center Nikola Jokic, who posted his fourth triple-double of the season with 36 points, 21 rebounds and 11 assists.
Jokic followed a 3-pointer by Reggie Jackson (14 points) with one of his own with 18.2 seconds left to cut the deficit to 103-102. VanVleet followed with two free throws. Michael Porter Jr. added 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets. Aaron Gordon chipped in 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Heat 118, Spurs 113
Duncan Robinson scored a season-high 26 points and Josh Richardson had seven points in a decisive fourth-quarter stretch as visiting Miami defeated San Antonio to win its fifth straight game.
Bam Adebayo added 24 points and 11 rebounds, Butler had 19 points and Richardson, Kevin Love and Dru Smith hit for 12 points apiece for the Heat.
Keldon Johnson led the Spurs with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Victor Wembanyama and Zach Collins each scored 18 points, Jeremy Sochan added 16, Devin Vassell had 14 and Malaki Branham tallied 13. Wembanyama also grabbed 11 rebounds for San Antonio, which has lost five straight games.
Thunder 111, Suns 99
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points, Jalen Williams scored 31 on 11-of-16 shooting from the floor and Oklahoma City handed Phoenix its fourth consecutive home loss.
Oklahoma City shot a blistering 9-for-15 from the field in the fourth quarter, while Phoenix sputtered to a 2-of-21 effort in the period. The disparity allowed the Thunder to surge ahead with an 18-4 run, building an 11-point lead with 2:22 remaining.
Kevin Durant scored 28 points and snared a game-high nine rebounds for Phoenix, which was again without Devin Booker. Sunday marked Booker’s fifth consecutive absence due to a calf injury.
Timberwolves 116, Warriors 110
Anthony Edwards scored eight of his team-high 33 points in the final 2:28, and Minnesota turned back Golden State in San Francisco.
Four Timberwolves starters scored in double figures, including Karl-Anthony Towns, who finished with 21 points and added 14 rebounds. Rudy Gobert added his own double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Scoring from inside and offensive balance helped Minnesota weather a game-high 38 points from Stephen Curry. Golden State’s second-leading scorer was Klay Thompson with 16 points.
Lakers 116, Trail Blazers 110
Anthony Davis scored 30 points with 13 rebounds, Rui Hachimura added 19 points and Los Angeles, playing without LeBron James, defeated visiting Portland.
Cam Reddish and Austin Reaves each added 18 points for Los Angeles in the second game with Reddish in Reaves’ former starting spot. James sat out for the first time this season with a left calf contusion. D’Angelo Russell had 11 points with 11 assists for the Lakers.
Jerami Grant scored 23 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, and Shaedon Sharp added 19 for the short-handed Trail Blazers.
–Field Level Media
