Embiid leads Sixers past Grizzlies
Joel Embiid had 30 points and 12 rebounds in just 23 minutes, Kelly Oubre Jr. added 17 points and the Philadelphia 76ers pulled within a half-game of seventh place in the Eastern Conference by beating the short-handed Memphis Grizzlies 116-96 on Saturday night.
Embiid was 9 of 13 from the floor, making both of his 3-point attempts. He checked out with seven minutes left in the third quarter and coach Nick Nurse saw no reason for him to return as Philadelphia maintained a comfortable lead in the second half en route to its fourth consecutive win.
Scotty Pippen Jr. led the Grizzlies with 24 points, while GG Jackson finished with 17. Jordan Goodwin added 15 for Memphis, which had its three-game winning streak snapped. Maozinha Pereira had 13 points and 11 rebounds.
The Grizzlies had little answer for Embiid in the first half. The Philadelphia center collected 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor, plus 10 rebounds as the 76ers built a 62-42 halftime advantage. Memphis was just 2 of 12 from outside the arc, part of the Grizzlies shooting 37%.
Philadelphia outscored Memphis 34-19 in the second quarter and the Grizzlies could make little headway to start the second half, never cutting the deficit into single digits. The pieces the Grizzlies had cobbled together didn’t have the offensive firepower, and they still trailed by 86-70 after the third.
While the depleted Grizzlies had 13 players who did not dress against the 76ers, Philadelphia has gotten healthier with Embiid’s return from knee surgery and is trying to avoid the play-in games. Besides being a halfgame behind Miami for the No. 7 spot, the Sixers also moved within one game of Indiana for sixth place in the East and a guaranteed playoff spot.
While the season has featured few highlights for the
Grizzlies guard Jordan Goodwin, left,has the ball knocked away by 76ers forward Kelly Oubre Jr. during the first half on Saturday in Memphis, Tenn.
Grizzlies, the franchise did hold a celebration Saturday night with the retirement of former center Marc Gasol’s jersey. Gasol, who played 11 seasons with Memphis, was an anchor on the grit and grind era that took the franchise to the postseason for seven consecutive seasons, including reaching the Western Conference finals in 2013.
NETS 113, PISTONS 103
Cam Thomas scored 32 points and the Brooklyn Nets rallied with a big fourth quarter for a 113-103 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night.
Dennis Schroder added 24 points and Noah Clowney had 17 off the bench for the Nets, who won their second straight game. Mikal Bridges chipped in with 13 and Jalen Wilson finished with 10.
“Just having something to build on for next year,” Thomas said of the twogame winning streak. “We just have to finish strong. Keep developing the culture that we (were) preaching during training camp. ...Just finishing strong (and) seeing what we can build on for next year so we don’t have another season like this.”
Detroit dropped to 13-65 with its fourth straight loss. Chimezie Metu led the Pistons with 20 points. Marcus Sasser finished with 18 and Jaden Ivey added 16.
Troy Brown Jr. had 15 and Jaylen Nowell contributed 12 off the bench for the Pistons,
Pine Creek’s Liam Sparling, left, and Monarch’s Brandon Wynn fight for possession Saturday at Monarch.
who led by 19 and were still ahead 83-75 after three before the Nets outscored them 38-20 over the final 12 minutes.
Trailing 99-91 after Schroder knocked down a jumper with 6:28 remaining, the Nets used a 22-4 run to clinch the win.
In the stretch, Clowney drilled a corner 3 right in front of the Brooklyn bench, which was followed shortly thereafter by Nic Claxton’s two-handed alley-oop jam that cut Detroit’s lead to 103-101.
LAKERS 116, CAVS 97
D’angelo Russell scored 28 points, Lebron James added 24 and the Los Angeles Lakers extended their winning streak to four with a 116-97 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday, moving into eighth place in the Western Conference.
Anthony Davis added 22 points and 13 rebounds as the Lakers improved to 4533 with their ninth win in 10 games.
They still are in position to land in the play-in tournament, but finishing seventh or eighth means they would only need to win one game to earn a playoff spot.
It is the first time since Dec. 29 the Lakers have been eighth in the conference. With four regular-season games remaining though, coach Darvin Ham isn’t focused on seeding but on the Lakers having momentum going into the postseason.