Joel Embiid scored 35 of his 45 points in the second half and overtime to lift the host Philadelphia 76ers past the Miami Heat 137-134 on Tuesday.
Embiid was 13 of 13 from the free-throw line, including two with 8.9 seconds left in overtime, to go along with 16 rebounds, five steals and four assists. Danny Green tied a franchise record with nine 3-pointers on his way to 29 points, and he added 10 rebounds as the Sixers snapped a three-game losing streak.
Tyler Herro led the Heat with 34 points, Duncan Robinson added 26 and Gabe Vincent had a career-high 24. Precious Achiuwa contributed 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Kelly Olynyk had 15 points.
Both teams were without a number of key players, including the Sixers’ Tobias Harris, Seth Curry, Shake Milton and Matisse Thybulle and the Heat’s Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Goran Dragic and Kendrick Nunn, due to health and safety protocols.
Brooklyn Nets 122 – Denver Nuggets 116
Kevin Durant totaled 34 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds as Brooklyn overcame an 18-point deficit to post a victory over Denver in New York.
Caris LeVert added 20 points and Bruce Brown contributed six of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, including a baseline 10-footer that snapped a 113-113 deadlock with 1:44 left. Joe Harris contributed 15 points for the Nets, who shot 60.8 percent in their fourth straight game without Kyrie Irving (personal reasons).
Nikola Jokic amassed 23 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds and seven steals for the Nuggets, who were outscored 61-37 in the final 21-plus minutes. Will Barton hit six 3-pointers and added 22 points while Jamal Murray contributed 20 for the Nuggets, who shot 50 percent overall.
Los Angeles Lakers 117 – Houston Rockets 100
LeBron James scored 22 of his game-high 26 points in the first half and Los Angeles posted its second runaway victory over the Rockets in as many games, rolling to a win in Houston.
The Lakers led wire to wire while remaining perfect on the road, combining stingy defense with blistering perimeter shooting in the first quarter to build a 35-14 lead entering the second. James made 4 of 9 3-pointers and added eight rebounds and five assists. Five other Lakers joined James in double figures, with Anthony Davis posting 19 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots in just 29 minutes.
Christian Wood paired 18 points with eight rebounds while James Harden added 16 points, seven rebounds, and six assists for Houston. The Rockets continued their poor shooting from deep, finishing 12 of 40 on 3-point attempts while shooting just 39.2 percent overall. Harden missed 5 of 6 treys and shot 5 of 16 overall.
Utah Jazz 117 – Cleveland Cavaliers 87
Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points and Jordan Clarkson added 21 to lift visiting Utah to a victory over Cleveland.
Bojan Bogdanovic chipped in 20 points for the Jazz. Georges Niang added 14 points off the bench after scoring 13 total points in his first 10 games of the season. Mike Conley contributed 12 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Cedi Osman had 17 points, four rebounds and six assists for the Cavaliers, who lost their third consecutive game and have dropped seven of the past nine. Isaac Okoro and Damyean Dotson each scored 11 points, and reserve Yogi Ferrell added 10.
San Antonio Spurs 112 – Oklahoma City Thunder 102
Lonnie Walker IV scored 24 points to lead San Antonio to a victory at Oklahoma City.
San Antonio forced 13 Thunder turnovers, converting them into 26 points on the other end while Oklahoma City managed just two points off four Spurs turnovers. Keldon Johnson had 18 points for the Spurs and Patty Mills contributed 17. LaMarcus Aldridge contributed 13 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 20 points, going 7 of 10 from the field. Hamidou Diallo added 16 off the bench for Oklahoma City, which fell to 0-4 at home.
–Field Level Media
