Joel Embiid scores 38 points as 76ers hand Celtics first home loss
Doncic dazzles as Dallas down Detroit in Mexico; Love scores 30 as Cavs outlast Spurs; Jokic shines as Nuggets beat Blazers
Friday 13 December 2019 08:02, UK
Joel Embiid scored a season-high 38 points and added 13 rebounds as the Philadelphia 76ers handed the Boston Celtics their first home loss 115-109 on Thursday night.
Philadelphia 76ers 115-109 Boston Celtics
Joel Embiid scored a season-high 38 points and added 13 rebounds as the Philadelphia 76ers handed the Boston Celtics their first home loss 115-109 on Thursday night.
Tobias Harris added 23 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and Mike Scott scored 15 on five three-pointers as the 76ers won for the eighth time in their last nine games. Philadelphia narrowed the list of undefeated teams at home to themselves and the Miami Heat.
Kemba Walker had 29 points, and Enes Kanter (20) and Daniel Theis (16) each enjoyed season-high scoring nights for the Celtics, who fell to their second straight loss.
Boston, playing the second night of a back-to-back, got within 108-106 on a Kanter dunk with 41.3 seconds remaining after trailing by nine with 2:25 left. Ben Simmons hit a pair of free throws, but a Jayson Tatum three cut the Celtics deficit to one, 110-109, with 27.3 ticks to go.
After two Embiid free throws, Boston turned the ball over on an inbounds pass. Embiid was fouled again, hit 1-of-2 at the line and would add another two free throws as the 76ers closed it out.
Al Horford (knee, hamstring) missed his first game back in Boston since joining the 76ers as a free agent in the offseason. A Celtic for three seasons, he received a standing ovation when shown on the jumbotron.
Dallas Mavericks 122-111 Detroit Pistons
Luka Doncic recorded the first triple-double at an NBA neutral site in 46 years in the Dallas Mavericks' 122-111 victory over the Detroit Pistons in Mexico City.
Doncic dazzled with 41 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, matching the triple-double feat of the Boston Celtics' John Havlicek on December 12, 1973 in Providence, Rhode Island, against the Buffalo Braves. Havlicek had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists that night.
Doncic's triple-double was the 16th of his career, with his 41 points coming up one shy of his personal record in a triple-double, which he set last month against San Antonio.
Doncic had eight of his points, including a three-pointer and a three-point play, during a 4:44 stretch bridging the second and third quarters in which the Mavericks scored 20 consecutive points, turning a 58-51 deficit into a 71-58 lead.
In winning for the sixth straight time, Dallas led by as many as 24 points in the third quarter before coasting home. The closest Detroit got in the fourth period was nine points.
Doncic hit 14 of his 24 shots and six of his 13 three-point attempts in recording his fourth 40-point game of the season. Seth Curry matched his team-mate with six three-pointers en route to 30 points, one off his career-best. Kristaps Porzingis added 20 points, while Dwight Powell grabbed 10 rebounds to complement nine points.
Andre Drummond registered a 23-point, 15-rebound double-double for Detroit. Derrick Rose, who bombed in five three-pointers, went for 19 points, Markieff Morris 16, Tony Snell 12, and Blake Griffin and Christian Wood 10 apiece for the Pistons, who had won four of their previous five games.
Cleveland Cavaliers 117-109 San Antonio Spurs (OT)
Kevin Love scored a season-high 30 points, including a three-pointer to send the game into overtime, and pulled down 17 rebounds as the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers outlasted the San Antonio Spurs 117-109.
The Cavaliers snapped an eight-game losing streak on the second night of a home-road back to back. It was the third straight overtime game for the Spurs.
San Antonio trailed by 10 points entering the fourth quarter and by 83-80 with 8:04 to play before forging an 11-3 run behind nine points from DeMar DeRozan to pull in front 91-86.
Patty Mills hit a pair of free throws to give the Spurs a 103-98 lead with 20.1 seconds to play in regulation before Collin Sexton responded with a lay-up. DeRozan then missed two free throws with 14 seconds left, giving Cleveland the chance to tie the game, which Love accomplished with a three-pointer with 7.5 seconds remaining.
DeRozan then missed a 15-footer at the buzzer to force overtime.
The Cavaliers never trailed in the extra period, moving to a 113-109 lead on Jordan Clarkson's reverse lay-up with 53.6 seconds to play. Sexton then nailed two free throws to cement the game.
Sexton added 28 points, with Clarkson hitting for 25 and Cedi Osman scoring 15 for Cleveland. DeRozan led San Antonio with 21 points while LaMarcus Aldridge scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Derrick White poured in 17 points and Lonnie Walker IV and Mills added 10 each.
Portland Trail Blazers 99-114 Denver Nuggets
Nikola Jokic had 20 points, 11 rebounds and six assists and Jerami Grant added 20 points as the host Denver Nuggets beat the Portland Trail Blazers 114-99.
Will Barton finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, Gary Harris also scored 15 and Jamal Murray scored 12 points for Denver, who ended a three-game skid.
Hassan Whiteside had a game-high 33 points to go with 11 rebounds and four blocked shots for the Trail Blazers. Carmelo Anthony had 20 points and nine rebounds in his first game against his former team since joining Portland. CJ McCollum scored 15 and Damian Lillard had 13 points and 11 assists for the Trail Blazers.
Portland missed their last five shots of the third quarter, a streak broken by Anfernee Simons to start the fourth quarter. The Nuggets answered with a 7-0 run to lead 96-80 early in the period.
It was 98-84 lead when Grant his another triple and a little later Monte Morris' shot from behind the arc put Denver up 104-86, their biggest lead of the game.
