Embiid leads 76ers to sweep of Celtics
Jokic, Nuggets roll; Lakers top Raptors
BOSTON — Joel Embiid scored 35 points and the Philadelphia 76ers rolled to a 106-96 win over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night.
Danny Green added 17 points as the Sixers posted their third straight victory over the Celtics to sweep the season series.
The 76ers have won both games since Embiid returned from a 10-game absence while he recovered from a bruised bone in his left knee. They have won three of four overall.
Philadelphia led by 21 in the second half of the opener of a four-game trip.
Boston was trying for its first three-game win streak since early March. Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 20 points, and Jaylen Brown finished with 17.
NUGGETS 134, PISTONS 119: In Denver, Nikola Jokic scored 27 points in 27 minutes and Denver spoiled the return of Jerami Grant and Mason Plumlee by shellacking Detroit.
Jokic also dished out 11 assists, his 83rd career doubledigit assist game, two more than Wilt Chamberlain had in his Hall of Fame career.
The Nuggets got 25 points from Michael Porter Jr. and 24 from Will Barton. Denver led by as many as 28 before sitting most of its starters early in the second half.
Grant has had a breakout season in Detroit, where he brought a 22.4-point scoring average into Denver. He scored 29 points over 30 minutes to go with Saddiq Bey’s 25 points.
HAWKS 123, PELICANS 107: In Atlanta, Trae Young scored 30 points and helped lead a third-quarter 3-point barrage as surging Atlanta beat Zion Williamson and New Orleans.
The Hawks sank each of their 11 3-point attempts in the third, including four from Bogdan Bogdanovic, who had 21 points. Atlanta made 20 of 31 3s overall.
Young also had 12 assists. He made three 3s in the third as the Hawks surged to a 10790 lead. Kevin Huerter had 17 points for Atlanta.
LAKERS 110, RAPTORS 101: In Tampa, Fla., Los Angeles built a 34-point lead in the first 20 minutes and cruised past Toronto.
Talen Horton-Tucker led seven Lakers in double figures with 17 points. Markieff Morris scored 15 before leaving with five fouls in the third quarter.
Pascal Siakam scored 17 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter for Toronto after hitting just 2 of 11 shots in the first half.
The Lakers’ Montrezl Harrell and Toronto’s OG Anunoby were ejected with 2:24 left in the first quarter after Dennis Schroder fouled Anunoby’s layup attempt. Several players, including Harrell, were involved in an altercation after Schroder and Anunoby squared off.
GRIZZLIES 124, HEAT 112: In Miami, Dillon Brooks scored 28 points on 10-for-16 shooting and Memphis ended another Miami losing streak.
Jonas Valanciunas had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Kyle Anderson finished with 19 points and Desmond Bane added 15 points for the Grizzlies, who won their third straight.
Jimmy Butler scored 28 points and Bam Adebayo had 18 for the Heat.
BULLS 113, PACERS 97: In Indianapolis, Nikola Vucevic took advantage of Indiana’s missing big men by posting 32 points and 17 rebounds in Chicago’s win.
Chicago has won two straight since snapping a six-game losing streak and moved within one game of the Pacers for the No. 9 spot in the Eastern Conference. Vucevic also had five assists while going 14 of 29 from the field. All-Star Zach LaVine added 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
CLIPPERS 133, TRAIL BLAZERS 116: In Los Angeles, Paul George scored 36 points and Los Angeles rode a franchisebest 47-point first quarter to a victory over Portland.
Kawhi Leonard added 29 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists as the Clippers followed an 18-point rout of the defending champion Lakers two days ago with another impressive performance.
George shot 11 of 18 and made six 3-pointers. Reggie Jackson added 23 points off the bench.
Norman Powell scored 32 points and CJ McCollum added 24 points for the Blazers, who had their four-game road winning streak snapped. The Clippers harassed Damian Lillard into 2-of-14 shooting for 11 points.
WARRIORS 122, BUCKS 121: In San Francisco, Kelly Oubre Jr. converted a pair of free throws with 7.7 seconds left to give Golden State the lead, and Milwaukee missed at the end as the Warriors held off the Bucks.
In a furious finish like those Golden State teams of years past, Stephen Curry made a 3-pointer with 1:06 to play on the way to 41 points with five 3-pointers as his team worked until the final buzzer to snap a three-game losing streak.