Embiid powers Sixers win as Hornets beat champions Bucks again
PHILADELPHIA 76ers picked up a seventh straight NBA victory, courtesy of Joel Embiid’s 31 points and eight rebounds, thumping Houston Rockets 111-91 Monday.
Embiid recorded his seventh straight 30-point game. He also had six assists and made all 13 of his free throws in front of a crowd of 13,600 at Toyota Center arena in Houston.
He is the second NBA player in history to score exactly 31 points in four straight games. Bob McAdoo did it for the Buffalo Braves in 1973.
Embiid entered Monday’s contest as the sixth-highest scorer in the league, averaging 26.8 points per game.
Philadelphia has the longest winning streak in the Eastern Conference and the second-longest one in the league behind the Memphis Grizzlies who have won nine straight.
Elsewhere, LaMelo Ball scored 23 points as the Charlotte Hornets swept back-to-back games against the defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks with a 103-99 win.
Ball capped his performance with the eventual winning basket on a floater with 15 seconds left in the fourth for the Hornets, who also beat the Bucks 114-106 on Saturday.
Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds for the struggling Bucks, who have lost four of their last five games.
Milwaukee committed their 20th turnover after Ball’s go-ahead basket. On the next possession, Miles Bridges sank a pair of game-clinching free throws.
Ball scooted to his left, shooting across his body as he was falling away to break the tie.
Terry Rozier delivered 27 points, Bridges finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds and Gordon Hayward tallied 14 points as the Hornets won despite shooting just 13-of-44 shooting from 3-point range.
Khris Middleton helped pace the Bucks offense with 27 points and a game-high 11 assists. Jordan Nwora added 18 points and Wesley Matthews had 13 points.
In Detroit, rookie Cade Cunningham scored a career-high 29 points and the Detroit Pistons rallied from a 22-point deficit to defeat the Utah Jazz 126-116.
Cunningham, the top pick in the NBA entry draft, scored all but five of his points after halftime. He also dished out eight of Detroit’s 30 assists.
Saddiq Bey matched Cunningham with 29 points, while Cory Joseph came off the bench to score 16 points. Trey Lyles added 14 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Donovan Mitchell scored a team-high 31 points for the Jazz, who have lost three straight. Hassan Whiteside contributed 21 points and 14 rebounds and Jordan Clarkson chipped in 16 points.