NBA Roundup: Joel Embiid pockets 38 points, Philadelphia beats Celtics

Seth Curry returned to the Sixers' starting lineup following a seven-game absence because of a positive COVID-19 test and scored 15 points.

Published : Jan 23, 2021 13:02 IST , PHILADELPHIA

Joel Embiid had 38 points and 11 rebounds, Tobias Harris scored 23 points and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Boston Celtics 122-110 on Friday night.

Seth Curry returned to the Sixers’ starting lineup following a seven-game absence because of a positive COVID-19 test and scored 15 points.

Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 42 points and nine rebounds, and Marcus Smart had 20 points.

 

Embiid followed a 42-point outing in a win over Boston on Wednesday night with another fantastic effort. He made 14 of 15 from the free-throw line -- a near-flawless retort after some mild criticism from Smart.

Smart said Embiid “flails and gets the calls” after the All-Star center went to the line 21 times in his 42-point game. The Celtics shot just 20 free throws in that loss and none in the fourth quarter.

-Cavaliers 125, Nets 113-

Collin Sexton had 25 points and nine assists, Andre Drummond added 19 points and 16 rebounds and Cleveland beat Brooklyn for the second time in three days.

Nets superstar forward Kevin Durantwas held out as a precautionary measure as he continues his comeback from right Achilles tendon surgery.

 

Kyrie Irving scored 38 points, and James Harden had 19 points and 11 assists for Brooklyn, which lost 147-135 in double-overtime to the Cavaliers in the debut of its high-scoring trio Wednesday night. Durant scored 38 points in that game and played 50 minutes, so the Nets rested him Friday with another game scheduled Saturday.

-Nuggets 130, Suns 126-

Nikola Jokic scored 31 points, Gary Harris added 19 and Denver rallied to force overtime before beating Phoenix.

Will Barton pushed the Nuggets ahead 124-123 with 1:37 left in overtime on a driving layup and Jamal Murray’s 13-foot jumper put them up three points with 28.5 seconds left. Denver held on from that point, winning for the third time in four games to improve to 8-7 this season.

 

Devin Booker led the Suns with 31 points but took a hard fall late in overtime and didn’t play the final few possessions. Phoenix’s offense looked out of synch without its leading scorer on the floor and didn’t score a field goal after he left.

Suns forward Deandre Ayton had 27 points and 13 rebounds. Mikal Bridges added 24 points and 10 rebounds.

-Rockets 103, Pistons 102-

Jerami Grant’s driving layup on the final play came too late, and Houston held on to beat Detroit.

Down one with 3.4 seconds remaining, the Pistons inbounded to Grant, who faked a handoff to Blake Griffin and then drove down the right side of the lane. Time clearly ran out before he laid the ball in, but he was also bumped by Houston’s P.J. Tucker. Replays showed that contact also came after time expired, and after a review, the game ended.

 

Eric Gordon scored 20 points for Houston. Grant scored 21 points for Detroit, which rallied from a 20-point second-quarter deficit and nearly erased a four-point gap late in the fourth.

-Pacers 120, Magic 118-

Malcolm Brogdon hit a 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds left in overtime, lifting Indiana past Orlando. Evan Fournier’s 3-point attempt bounced off the rim at the buzzer for Orlando.

Brogdon led the Pacers with 23 points. Jeremy Lamb and Myles Turner each scored 22 points, and Domantas Sabonis had 18.

Fournier scored 26 points for the Magic. Nikola Vucevic had 24 points and 12 rebounds.

-Clippers 120, Thunder 106-

Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points, Paul George added 29 and Los Angeles beat Oklahoma City for its sixth straight victory.

Serge Ibaka had 17 points and 11 rebounds to help the Clippers improve to 12-4, tying the Lakers for the NBA’s best record.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 30 points and eight assists against his former team.

-Hawks 116, Timberwolves 98-

Trae Young scored a season-high 43 points, Clint Capela had 13 points, 19 rebounds and 10 blocks and Atlanta topped Minnesota.

Young scored 25 points in the first half as the Hawks took a 19-point lead at halftime. He reached 40 points late in the third quarter with a step-back 3-pointer that put the Hawks up 84-59.

Capela had six blocks in the first half as Atlanta held Minnesota to 43 points on 16-of-35 shooting.

Malik Beasley was one of the few bright spots for Minnesota with 17 points. Minnesota has lost four straight and 11 of its last 12 after starting the season 2-0.

-Mavericks 122, Spurs 117-

Luka Doncic had 36 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds and Dallas withstood a late rally to beat San Antonio,

San Antonio lost starting point guard Dejounte Murray in the opening minute. The severity of the injury is unknown.

DeMar DeRozan had 29 points for the Spurs, and LaMarcus Aldridge added 26s. Dallas won its second straight after a three-game losing streak. San Antonio is 2-5 at home.

-Raptors 101, Heat 81-

Norman Powell scored 23 points, OG Anunoby added 21 and Toronto recovered to beat Miami after blowing a 21-point.

Pascal Siakam had 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Raptors. They never trailed on their way to avenging a loss to the Heat on Wednesday night. Kendrick Nunn led the Heat with 20 points.

-Bulls 123, Hornets 110-

Zach LaVine continued his strong play with 25 points and nine assists, leading Chicago past Charlotte for its third straight victory.

Lauri Markkanen added 23 points, and Coby White had 18 points and eight assists. Gordon Hayward led Charlotte with 34 points. The Hornets have lost four straight.

-Kings 103, Knicks 94-

Harrison Barnes had 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and Sacramento overcame a cold shooting spell late in the fourth quarter to hold off New York and end a four-game losing streak.

The Kings made only three shots over the final six minutes but made up for it by going 7 of 8 on free throws down the stretch.

De’Aaron Fox added 22 points and seven assists for Sacramento, which had lost nine of its previous 11. Richaun Holmes had 10 points, 14 rebounds and matched his career-high of six blocks.

Julius Randle had 26 points and 15 rebounds for the Knicks, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. RJ Barrett added 21 points and seven rebounds.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment