Kelly Oubre Jr. had 18 points and 10 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers held the New York Knicks to the lowest point total in the NBA this season, winning 79-73 on Sunday night in the ugly opener of a two-game series.
Less than two months after Joel Embiid scored 70 points by himself to set a 76ers franchise record, it appeared for a while that neither team might get that many on Sunday.
Philadelphia led 37-31 at halftime, the lowest-scoring first half in an NBA game since Portland led Detroit 34-31 on March 30, 2019, in a game the Pistons won 99-90. The scoring picked up in the second half, when the 76ers finally got enough contributions to snap a three-game losing streak. Buddy Hield had 16 points and Paul Reed added 13.
Jalen Brunson scored 19 points for the Knicks, but shot just 6 for 22. New York shot 32.5% overall and 22.5% from 3-point range. The Knicks committed 21 turnovers that led to 17 Philadelphia points.
THUNDER 124, GRIZZLIES 93
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 23 points and six assists in three quarters and Oklahoma City rolled past Memphis.
Rookie Cason Wallace scored a season-high 23 points, Josh Giddey had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Lu Dort scored 14 points and made all four of his 3-point tries for the Thunder. Oklahoma City won its third straight to stay at the top of the Western Conference standings.
The only bad news for the Thunder came when No. 2 scorer Jalen Williams left in the second quarter with a sprained right ankle and did not return. Coach Mark Daigneault offered no update after the game, saying the team would look at it in the morning.
Rookie GG Jackson II scored a season-high 30 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. added 16 for Memphis.
LAKERS 120, TIMBERWOLVES 109
Anthony Davis had 27 points, a season-high 25 rebounds and a career-high seven steals while leading Los Angeles over short-handed Minnesota.
Davis added five assists and three blocked shots in one of the most prolific games of his decorated career. The nine-time All-Star feasted on a Minnesota lineup missing its top two big men and four regulars due to injuries, grabbing 21 rebounds in the second half alone and leading a 21-4 rally to begin the fourth quarter while the Lakers pulled away to their 12th win in 17 games.
LeBron James had 29 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, while Austin Reaves added 19 points as the Lakers (36-30) improved to six games above .500 for the first time this season.
Naz Reid scored 25 points and hit five 3-pointers in his first start of the season for Minnesota. Anthony Edwards also scored 25 points for the Wolves, who have lost four of six.
PACERS 111, MAGIC 97
Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam each scored 20 points and Indiana beat Orlando to close within a game of the Magic in the Eastern Conference standings.
T.J. McConnell and Obi Toppin each added 17 points for Indiana. Aaron Nesmith had 16.
Paolo Banchero had 19 points for Orlando, Cole Anthony added 16 and Wendell Carter had 13 points and 15 rebounds. The Magic have dropped two in a row for the first time since Jan. 22-26.
ROCKETS 112, KINGS 104
Fred VanVleet scored 22 points, Jalen Green added 19 and Houston beat Sacramento, but might have lost leading scorer Alperen Sengun to a right knee injury.
Sengun landed awkwardly while challenging a shot by the Kings’ Domantas Sabonis with under a minute to play in the fourth. Rockets coach Ime Udoka said after the game that Sengun, who left the court in a wheelchair, was getting an X-ray and he would “know more shortly.” ESPN reported that Sengun, averaging a career-high 21.2 points per game, will undergo an MRI on his right knee and ankle Monday.
Sabonis led the Kings with 25 points and 15 rebounds.
BUCKS 124, CLIPPERS 117
Lilian Lillard scored 16 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter of Milwaukee’s first victory on its California road trip, beating short-handed Los Angeles.
Lillard hit three of his seven 3-pointers during a stellar shooting display in the fourth, while Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds as the Bucks rebounded from back-to-back losses to Golden State and the Lakers by outlasting the Clippers, who played without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
James Harden had 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting and 11 assists while playing without his two superstar teammates, who both sat out the team’s second home game in less than 24 hours. Norman Powell scored 20 of his 26 points in the second half for the Clippers, who already were without injured Russell Westbrook.
WIZARDS 110, HEAT 108
Kyle Kuzma scored 32 points and Washington held on to beat Miami for its second win in a row after ending a 16-game skid.
Corey Kispert finished with 22 points, Deni Avdija added 16 and Tyus Jones had 12 points and 16 assists for the Wizards, who got their first road victory since Jan. 29, ending an eight-game skid away from home.
Kuzma made 12 of 16 free throws and had nine rebounds and four of Washington’s 35 assists, four short of a team season high.
Jimmy Butler scored 23 points for the Heat, who lost their third straight and fell to eighth in the East.
PELICANS 116, HAWKS 103
Trey Murphy III had 28 points off the bench to help New Orleans complete a perfect three-game road trip with a win over Atlanta.
Zion Williamson had 27 points, six rebounds and seven assists for the Pelicans, who have won four straight overall and snapped the Hawks’ three-game winning streak. Murphy was 6 for 13 from 3-point range and also had seven rebounds.
Bogdan Bogdanovic led the Hawks with 25 points. Dejounte Murray finished with 23 points and 11 assists one game after tying a career high with 41 points.
NETS 120, CAVALIERS 101
Cam Thomas scored 29 points in 31 minutes, Mikal Bridges had 25 points and Brooklyn pulled away to beat injury-riddled Cleveland.
Dennis Schroder added 17 points and eight assists, and Nic Claxton had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Brooklyn, which built a 26-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.
Georges Niang scored 20 points and Jarrett Allen had 15 points and nine rebounds for Cleveland, which fell a half-game behind Milwaukee into third place in the Eastern Conference. Darius Garland had 14 points and five assists for the Cavaliers, who were without Donovan Mitchell (left knee), Evan Mobley (left ankle sprain), Max Strus (right knee strain) and Dean Wade (personal reasons).
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