Bradley Beal drops 60 in Washington Wizards defeat to Philadelphia 76ers; Los Angeles Clippers hold off Golden State Warriors
Bradley Beal's 60 in vain for Washington Wizards against Philadelphia 76ers; Los Angeles Clippers beat Golden State Warriors; Sacramento Kings edge Chicago Bulls; New York Knicks win third straight; Orlando Magic lose Markelle Fultz in win over Cleveland Cavaliers
Thursday 7 January 2021 07:49, UK
The Philadelphia 76ers improved their league-best record to 7-1 on Wednesday night with a win over the Washington Wizards despite a career-high 60 points from Bradley Beal.
Paul George produced a double-double to help the Los Angeles Clippers to victory against the Golden State Warriors, the Sacramento Kings edged the Chicago Bulls to end their losing streak, the New York Knicks won their third straight and the Orlando Magic beat the Cleveland Cavaliers after losing guard Markelle Fultz to injury.
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Washington Wizards 136-141 Philadelphia 76ers
Joel Embiid scored 38 points and hit all 13 of his free throws to lift the host 76ers past the Wizards 141-136.
Seth Curry added 28 points to help offset a career-high 60 by Beal as the Sixers won their fifth in a row and their 20th straight at home. Philadelphia have now won seven of eight to open the season, sporting the best record in the league.
Tobias Harris and Shake Milton contributed 19 apiece, Ben Simmons had 17 points and 12 assists, and Danny Green added 15 points.
Beal tied a franchise record of 60 set by Gilbert Arenas in 2006, Russell Westbrook had 20 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds before leaving with an apparent wrist injury with 26 seconds left and Davis Bertans scored 17 points for the Wizards, who had their two-game winning streak snapped.
Despite Beal's 32 points, the Wizards trailed 82-67 at half-time after the Sixers scored on 12 straight possessions during one stretch in the second quarter.
It was 116-106 in favour of Philadelphia by the end of the third, before an 8-0 run late in the fourth carried them to victory after the game had been tied at 131 apiece.
Los Angeles Clippers 108-101 Golden State Warriors
Patrick Beverley and Nicolas Batum combined for three consecutive three-pointers in a late flurry that propelled the Clippers to a 108-101 victory over the Warriors.
Kawhi Leonard and George scored 21 points apiece for the Clippers, who were playing the second night of a back-to-back after a 116-113 home loss to San Antonio on Tuesday. Andrew Wiggins and Eric Paschall paced Golden State with 19 points apiece.
After a flagrant foul on Draymond Green created a four-point possession for the Clippers in a tied game, Beverley hit one three-pointer and Batum nailed a pair to open a 106-97 advantage with just 2:58 to go. Beverley had been zero for three on three-pointers before his big hoop, while Batum had missed three of his first four.
Beverley also served as the primary defender on Stephen Curry who, having scored 62 and 30 points in his previous two games, was held to a season-low 13, shooting just five-for-17 overall and one for six on three-pointers before limping off the floor at the end of the game. Warriors coach Steve Kerr indicated afterwards that it wasn't serious.
Batum finished with 13 points, while Serge Ibaka and Marcus Morris Sr. added 12 apiece for the Clippers, who beat Golden State for the fourth straight time.
George, who had sat out Tuesday's loss with an ankle injury, managed to put in 39 minutes. He completed a double double with 12 rebounds, two fewer than teammate Ibaka's game-high total.
Chicago Bulls 124-128 Sacramento Kings
Richaun Holmes scored 24 points and Marvin Bagley III added 21 as the Kings showed how good it felt to be home by ending a three-game losing streak with a 128-124 victory against the Bulls.
Harrison Barnes added 20 for the Kings, who dropped all three games on a just-completed road trip. The victory came in the opener of a seven-game homestand.
All was not completely positive for the Kings, who lost point guard De'Aaron Fox in the first quarter with right hamstring tightness.
Rookie Tyrese Haliburton played key minutes in place of Fox, scoring 17 points with six assists after missing the previous two games with a wrist injury. He scored 15 points in the fourth quarter alone, sealing the victory with a leaning three-pointer to put the Kings up 127-121 with 12 seconds remaining.
Live NBA: Philadelphia @ Brooklyn 07.01
The Kings led just 120-119 with less than a minute to play when Buddy Hield grabbed a rebound off a LaVine miss. He then converted on the other end on a three-pointer with 38.3 seconds remaining while getting fouled by Garrett Temple.
Glenn Robinson III had 14 points for the Kings, while Nemanja Bjelica had 12. Bagley added 12 rebounds for the double-double.
Coby White scored a career high 36 points along with seven assists for the Bulls and Zach LaVine added 32, while Wendell Carter Jr. finished with 11 points and 17 rebounds, Temple 11 points and Denzel Valentine 10.
Utah Jazz 100-112 New York Knicks
Austin Rivers scored 14 consecutive points late in the fourth quarter for the Knicks, who continued their resurgence by overcoming an 18-point second quarter deficit to beat the visiting Utah Jazz 112-100.
The comeback win was the second straight for the Knicks, who trailed by 15 points in the third quarter on Monday before beating the Atlanta Hawks 113-108. It is the first time New York have overcome 15-point deficits in back-to-back wins since victories over the Indiana Pacers and Charlotte Hornets November 5-7, 2017.
Rivers finished with 23 points off the bench for the Knicks, who have three in a row and five of six to improve to 5-3 - the first time they been two games over .500 since December 22, 2017 (17-15). Julius Randle had a game-high 30 points and 16 rebounds while Elfrid Payton finished with 22 points and eight assists and Reggie Bullock added 12 points.
Jordan Clarkson scored 19 points for the Jazz, who lost for the second time in as many nights. Rudy Gobert (14 points, 12 rebounds) posted a double-double while Donovan Mitchell (18 points) and Joe Ingles (16 points) also got into double figures.
Royce O'Neale hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 96-96 with 5:14 left before Rivers began his run with a step-back three-pointer 58 seconds later. Rivers drove for a layup 33 seconds later and followed up by sinking three three-pointers in a span of 2:22 to put the Knicks up 110-100.
Cleveland Cavaliers 94-105 Orlando Magic
Terrence Ross scored 20 points and Dwayne Bacon added 19 to propel the host Magic to a 105-94 victory over the Cavaliers.
Ross made five of six shots from three-point range and Bacon converted eight of 14 attempts from the floor to send Orlando to their sixth straight win over Cleveland.
Nikola Vucevic scored 16 points and Aaron Gordon had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Magic, who answered a modest two-game skid with back-to-back wins over the Cavaliers. Orlando benefited from a third-quarter scoring surge in a 103-83 victory on Monday.
Cleveland's Collin Sexton scored 21 points to set a franchise record of eight straight games with at least 20 points to start a season. The record was formerly held by LeBron James in 2004-05.
Andre Drummond notched his eighth consecutive double-double after collecting 19 points and 15 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who have dropped four of their last five games. Cleveland did themselves no favors by making just four of 26 attempts from three-point range.
Cavaliers rookie Isaac Okoro scored 10 points in his return from a five-game absence, while Cleveland played without Darius Garland and Dante Exum, the latter of whom will be missing for six to eight weeks with a strained right calf.
