76ERS 105, KNICKS 98
Joel Embiid (above) had 25 points and 16 rebounds as the Philadelphia 76ers snapped a five-game losing streak with a victory over the New York Knicks on Monday.
BOSTON — Washington’s talented guards made themselves at home at Boston’s Christmas party.
Bradley Beal scored 25 points, John Wall had 21 points and 14 assists, and the Wizards beat Boston 111-103 on Monday in the Celtics’ first Christmas Day home game in franchise history.
“For us to get a win, that was big time,” Wall said. “Playing against a great team, one of the hottest teams in the league. They’ve been in a slump lately, but it’s a team that we know we might have to battle later on, and to get a win it was great.”
Otto Porter Jr. added 20 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. finished with 16, helping Washington take the first meeting between the teams since Boston’s Game 7 victory at home in the second round of the playoffs last spring.
“I felt a little nostalgic out there,” Oubre said. “It brought me back to the playoffs and all the good memories that we have in here. The fans chanting crazy stuff, it just brought me back to a place where you know it got me locked in man, like it was the playoffs, so it was a great atmosphere out there.”
Eastern Conference-leading Boston lost for the third time in four games. Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum each scored 20 points for the Celtics, and Terry Rozier had 16.
The Celtics are 11-8 since opening the season 16-2.
“It hasn’t been one of the best stretches for us, but we have a resilient group,” Irving said. “That right there is enough for us to go on and make progress in the right direction.”
Boston forward Al Horford thinks it’s just a normal course of a season.
“You go through ups and downs in a season,” he said. “Tonight, I felt good about our chances. We put ourselves in position to win the game and we weren’t able to do it.”
Boston opened a 95-90 lead on Irving’s three-pointer with 6:18 left, but the Wizards responded with a 12-0 run. Beal capped the spurt with a three-point play and a breakaway dunk off of a turnover.
Wall added a layup and two free throws down the stretch to help Washington hold on
Last season, the teams had a testy rivalry with lots of trash-talking and a few games filled with hard fouls. It was more civil on Monday, just a tight defensive game with numerous contested shots and a few hard screens.
The Wizards led by two at halftime and opened the third quarter by scoring 13 of the first 17 points, pulling ahead 65-54 on Marcin Gortat’s three-point play. Gortat had 11 points and 10 rebounds. points NEW and YORK 16 — rebounds, Joel Embiid JJ Redick had 25 scored 24 points, and the Philadelphia 76ers snapped a five-game losing streak with a 105-98 victory over the New York Knicks. Neither player was cleared to play until going through pregame warmups, and their presence gave the 76ers just enough to win their first Christmas Day appearance since 2001. Embiid, who has been battling a bad back, powered through a big-man duel with Enes Kanter, who had a season-high 31 points and a career-best 22 rebounds. Redick, who missed the last game with right hamstring tightness, helped the 76ers pull away from an 89-89 tie midway through the fourth quarter. Kristaps Porzingis scored 22 points for the Knicks, who fell to 22-30 on Christmas with their fifth consecutive loss on the holiday. Backup point guard T.J. McConnell had Philadelphia’s final eight points of the third quarter, and the 76ers pushed the lead to nine with about nine minutes left in the game. The Knicks battled back to tie it 89-89 on Porzingis’ three-point play with 5:20 left, but Philadelphia promptly scored the next seven to go up 96-89 on Redick’s three-pointer with 3:34 to play. Philadelphia’s young stars kept the Knicks from getting much closer, with Embiid making a three-pointer and Ben Simmons stealing Porzingis’ pass and dunking it, both times hiking the lead back to eight. help hot Rockets OKLAHOMA with the had on Oklahoma a 31 victory Monday points CITY over City night. — and Russell Thunder the 11 assists Houston Westbrook stay to Carmelo Thunder, Paul George who Anthony won scored added their 24 fifth points 20 consecutive for and the percent game. from Oklahoma the field. City shot 54.4 points, James but Harden he made led the 7 of Rockets 18 field with goals. 29 The league’s leading scorer was coming off consecutive 51-point games. Trevor Ariza and Eric Gordon each scored 20 points and Clint Capela added 19 points and 10 rebounds for Houston, which lost its third consecutive. Houston point guard Chris Paul sat out with a groin strain. The Rockets are 15-1 when he plays and 10-6 when he doesn’t. Westbrook shot 4 for 14 in the first half but made his last two before the break to help the Thunder lead 58-57 at halftime. Harden had 11 points in the first half but made just 1 of 8 shots. Westbrook broke away for a fastbreak dunk to give the Thunder a 6559 lead early in the third quarter. The Rockets rallied, and the score was tied at 88-88 heading into the fourth. Houston had the ball down by three points in the final minute. Harden missed a wild three-pointer while trying but failing to draw a foul, and the Thunder got control in a scramble. Westbrook found Andre Roberson for a layup with 21 seconds left to put the Thunder up 112-107.