Joel Embiid scores career-high 49 points as Philadelphia 76ers beat Atlanta Hawks
Bucks beat Wizards despite Beal's 55; Cavs shock Heat in overtime; Clippers hammer Grizzlies
Tuesday 25 February 2020 07:18, UK
Joel Embiid scored a career-high 49 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lift the host Philadelphia 76ers past the Atlanta Hawks 129-112 on Monday night.
Atlanta Hawks 112-129 Philadelphia 76ers
Joel Embiid scored a career-high 49 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lift the host Philadelphia 76ers past the Atlanta Hawks 129-112 on Monday night.
Embiid produced 22 points in the fourth quarter and shot 14-of-15 overall from the free-throw line as the Sixers improved to a league-best 27-2 at home. It was also their 13th consecutive home victory.
Tobias Harris added 25 for the Sixers, who won again without injured All-Star guard Ben Simmons. Multiple media outlets reported that Simmons could be out for an extended period of time with more tests to be run on his ailing lower back.
Philadelphia's Furkan Korkmaz also contributed 15 points, and Josh Richardson had 13.
Trae Young paced the Hawks with 28 points and 10 assists while De'Andre Hunter added 22 points. John Collins had 21 points and nine rebounds while Bruno Fernando and Cam Reddish each came off the bench to score 10 points.
The Sixers dominated the first half, bolting to a 21-point lead in the first quarter and holding a 41-24 edge at the end of the opening 12 minutes. The Sixers led 69-52 at half-time thanks to Embiid's 21 points and Harris' 14.
When Young dropped in a 30-foot trey with 6:10 left in the third, the Hawks closed within 78-70. Hunter hit a shot in the paint and followed with a three-pointer to cap a 10-0 run and cut the deficit to 78-75. Young knocked down a triple with 0.5 seconds left in the third to give the Hawks a 92-91 lead.
Embiid made two free throws with 9:32 remaining to put the Sixers ahead 100-98. Embiid stayed aggressive and hit another pair of free throws for a four-point Sixers advantage one minute later. After an empty Hawks possession, Harris hit a trey for a 105-98 lead, enough of a cushion to propel the Sixers to another home win.
Milwaukee Bucks 137-134 Washington Wizards (OT)
Khris Middleton scored 40 points as the visiting Milwaukee Bucks overcame Bradley Beal's career-high 55-point performance to earn a 137-134 overtime victory over the Washington Wizards.
Middleton shot 15-of-28 from the floor to excel in his second contest this season against the Wizards. He erupted for a career-high 51 points in Milwaukee's 151-131 win over Washington on January 28. Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded 22 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out for the NBA-best Bucks, who have won 17 of their past 19 games.
Beal followed a 53-point performance in the Wizards' 126-117 setback at Chicago on Sunday by making 19-of-33 shots - including 8-of-13 from three-point range - against Milwaukee. Beal scored 47 points in the previous meeting with the Bucks.
Shabazz Napier scored 27 points off the bench for Washington, who have dropped three in a row after entering the All-Star break with five wins in their previous seven games.
After Beal sank a short jumper to stake the Wizards a 132-128 lead in overtime, Middleton countered with a pair of free throws, a jumper and a go-ahead three-pointer with 31.2 seconds remaining.
Beal made a pair of free throws to bring Washington within one, but Middleton answered with two of his own with 7.8 seconds left. Troy Brown Jr's three-point attempt rimmed out as time expired.
Miami Heat 119-125 Cleveland Cavaliers (OT)
Rookie Kevin Porter Jr scored a career-high 30 points to help the Cleveland Cavaliers overcome a 22-point second-half deficit and rally past the visiting Miami Heat 125-119 in overtime.
The Cavaliers, who are just 8-22 at home this season and had the worst record in the Eastern Conference entering the night, had lost eight straight games to the Heat, including 124-105 on Saturday in Miami. All but one of the eight losses came by double digits.
Cleveland's late-game heroics were led by Larry Nance Jr, who had 16 points, including 14 after the third quarter. Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love, who had missed two of the past three games due to a foot injury, returned and provided 17 points and 14 rebounds.
Miami are one of the best teams in the NBA at home with a 23-3 record but just 13-18 on the road. The Heat have lost six of their past seven road games, including three in a row.
Heat center Bam Adebayo narrowly missed a triple-double with 22 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists. He also blocked four shots and had three steals but committed six turnovers. Goran Dragic also had 22 points for the Heat and Kendrick Nunn added 21.
Five-time All-Star Jimmy Butler missed his second straight game for personal reasons. Miami was also without guard Tyler Herro and center Meyers Leonard, who each missed their eighth straight game due to ankle injuries.
Miami led for all of the first three quarters. But Cleveland put together a 21-2 fourth-quarter, tying the score 104-104 on Porter's three-pointer at the end of the shot clock with 4:55 left in regulation. Another Porter triple - this one with 4:10 left in the fourth - gave Cleveland their first lead of the game at 107-104.
Nunn's put-back with six seconds left tied the score 111-111 and the game went to overtime after Porter's baseline shot at the buzzer bounced off the front rim.
In overtime, Love passed to Porter for a dunk, giving Cleveland a 119-118 lead with 1:20 left. Darius Garland's jumper in the lane gave the Cavs a 121-118 advantage with 40 seconds left. After Miami's Jae Crowder missed a corner three-pointer, Love's put-back clinched Cleveland's upset win.
Minnesota Timberwolves 123-139 Dallas Mavericks
Luka Doncic scored 10 of his 20 points in a 41-point first-quarter explosion that propelled the host Dallas Mavericks to a 139-123 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Despite playing just 25 minutes, Doncic also found time for a game-high-tying nine rebounds and seven assists, while Tim Hardaway Jr poured in a team-leading 23 points for the Mavericks. Dallas rebounded from a 111-107 loss at Atlanta on Saturday, a game in which Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis did not play.
D'Angelo Russell led all scorers with 29 points for the Timberwolves, who lost their ninth straight on the road and 18th in their last 19 games overall.
Dallas wasted little time taking command over Minnesota, who were playing the second night of a back-to-back. Nine different players scored in the 41-point first quarter that produced a 14-point lead.
The Mavericks went on to lead by as many as 22 in the second quarter and 81-65 at half-time, before coasting to an easy win in their only home date in a seven-game stretch. The lead topped out at 27 late in the fourth.
Seth Curry scored 19 points, Delon Wright had 16 and Porzingis had 15 to go with nine rebounds. JJ Barea scored 12 points with a team-high eight assists, and Maxi Kleber scored 11 for the Mavericks, who shot 50.5 per cent.
The 139-point total was Dallas' fourth-highest of the season. The Mavericks' season-high came in a 143-101 romp over Cleveland in November.
The Timberwolves once again were without standout center Karl-Anthony Towns, sidelined by a fractured left wrist.
Memphis Grizzlies 97-124 LA Clippers
Kawhi Leonard had 25 points and eight rebounds to help the LA Clippers crush the visiting Memphis Grizzlies 124-97.
Leonard, who rested in the fourth quarter, connected on 10-of-17 shots from the floor in 25 minutes. Montrezl Harrell contributed 22 points, while JaMychal Green and Marcus Morris chipped in 13 points apiece.
Clippers forward Paul George, who missed Saturday's loss to the Sacramento Kings with a strained hamstring, returned but managed just seven points on 3-of-11 shooting in 21 minutes. Patrick Beverley, who sat out the previous five games with a groin injury, finished with six points in 19 minutes. But the guard's defense set the tone early for the Clippers, who snapped a three-game losing streak.
Rookie point guard Ja Morant led the Grizzlies with 16 points, but Memphis' four other starters produced only 15 points combined. Josh Jackson came off the bench to score 14 points, and Gorgui Dieng added 14 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks for the Grizzlies. No other Memphis player reached double figures in scoring.
The Grizzlies lost their third in a row after winning eight of 10 before the All-Star break.
The Clippers, who led by as many 37, jumped on the Grizzlies early and rolled to a 40-14 lead after one quarter. Leonard equalled the Grizzlies by scoring 14 points in the quarter. Eight Memphis turnovers, to two for Los Angeles, also didn't help the Grizzlies.
The Clippers maintained their advantage in the second quarter, taking a 66-37 lead at the break. Memphis cut the deficit to 22 in the third quarter but go no closer the rest of the way.
Orlando Magic 115-113 Brooklyn Nets
Aaron Gordon scored 12 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and hit two clutch shots in the final two minutes as the Orlando Magic rallied from a 19-point deficit and posted a 115-113 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in New York.
The fourth quarter featured 11 lead changes but Orlando took the lead for good when Gordon connected with Nikola Vucevic for a 110-109 lead with 2:22 remaining. Gordon then knocked down an 11-footer to make it 112-109 with 1:45 left and hit a stepback corner three-pointer for a 115-111 lead with 73 seconds to go.
The Nets were within 115-113 on a dunk by Jarrett Allen with 55 seconds left and had a chance at the tie or the lead after Markelle Fultz and Vucevic missed shots, but Gordon blocked Caris LeVert's attempt with 14 seconds left.
Orlando gave the Nets another chance at the tie or win when Fultz threw the inbounds pass from midcourt out of bounds, but Brooklyn's Taurean Prince missed a three-pointer with three-tenths of a second remaining.
Gordon shot 11-of-16 from the floor and grabbed 10 rebounds, helping Orlando outscore Brooklyn 67-46 over the final 20-plus minutes. Reserve Terrance Ross added 13 of his 21 points in the final quarter.
Spencer Dinwiddie led the Nets with 24 points but missed all four of his shots in the fourth. LeVert added 19 while Garrett Temple contributed 18 as Brooklyn shot 47.9 per cent and had a five-game home winning streak stopped.
The Nets blew a double-digit lead for the second time in three games. On Thursday, Brooklyn gave up a 20-point lead in an overtime loss at the Philadelphia 76ers.
Phoenix Suns 131-111 Utah Jazz
Devin Booker recorded 24 points and 10 assists to help the Phoenix Suns post a 131-111 victory over the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.
Ricky Rubio add 22 points, 11 assists, six rebounds and a season-best seven steals to help the Suns defeat his former squad. Kelly Oubre Jr scored 18 points, Deandre Ayton had 16 on 8-for-9 shooting and Dario Saric made all five of his shots en route to scoring 14 points.
Phoenix snapped an eight-game losing streak when facing the Jazz. It was just their second victory in the last 17 meetings with Utah.
Donovan Mitchell scored 38 points for Utah, who lost their third straight game, all at home. The Jazz allowed their second-most points of the season.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 16 points, Jordan Clarkson tallied 14 off the bench and Rudy Gobert added 13 points and eight rebounds. Gobert became the fifth player in Jazz history to reach 1,000 career blocked shots when he swatted Rubio's shot with 3:05 remaining.
The Suns outscored Utah 69-49 in the second half while controlling the contest. Phoenix led by 11 entering the final stanza and Oubre's dunk increased the advantage to 106-91 with 9:42 left. Rubio knocked down a three-pointer to increase the Suns' lead to 112-94 with 7:55 to play.
Ayton's basket, Rubio's two free throws and another Ayton hoop pushed the edge to 124-103 with 3:01 play and Phoenix finished off their third victory in the past four games.
New York Knicks 112-123 Houston Rockets
James Harden paired 37 points with nine assists while Ben McLemore and Austin Rivers added valuable double-digit production off the bench as the Houston Rockets cruised to a 123-112 victory over the New York Knicks at Toyota Center.
The Rockets have won eight of their last 10 games by outflanking the opposition from the three-point line, and they extended to a 25-point lead before cooling off when both benches cleared in the fourth period. Houston excelled offensively without guard Russell Westbrook, who was a late scratch (thumb).
Harden, Westbrook and PJ Tucker all arrived just over an hour prior to tip-off after taking a private jet from Los Angeles following the memorial service for Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.
McLemore scored 17 points on 4-for-9 three-point shooting while Rivers chipped in 14 points, including nine in the third quarter. Eric Gordon, inserted into the starting line-up for Westbrook, scored 16 points over 28 minutes before departing in the second half with left knee soreness.
Rookie RJ Barrett paced the Knicks with 21 points while Julius Randle added a double-double (17 points, 12 rebounds). Dennis Smith Jr tallied 15 points and a career-high seven steals for the Knicks.
In the second quarter, Houston quickly built a 44-33 lead, and when the Knicks clawed to within 53-49 midway through the period, Harden responded with 13 consecutive points as Houston reclaimed control.
Harden matched his season-high with 31 first-half points, doing so on just 16 shot attempts while converting 4-of-5 three-pointers.
Want to watch the NBA but don't have Sky Sports? Get the Sky Sports Action and Arena pack, click here.
