Embiid, Sixers end Clippers’ winning streak at seven
PHILADELPHIA » Joel Embiid had 36 points and 14 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Clippers 106-103 on Friday night, snapping Los Angeles’ seven-game winning streak.
Furkan Korkmaz added 18 points and Ben Simmons had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Eastern Conference-leading Sixers, who have won four in a row.
Paul George had 37 points and nine rebounds for the Clippers, who last lost on April 1. Patrick Patterson added a season-high 18 points and Marcus Morris scored 15 for Los Angeles.
Kawhi Leonard missed his fourth straight game for the Clippers with a sore right foot.
It was the second straight game in which the Sixers beat one of the league’s marquee teams without its stars.They got past Brooklyn 123-117 on Wednesday night in a matchup between the East’s top two teams with James Harden and Kevin Durant sidelined.
Patterson hit his fifth 3-pointer to give the Clippers their first lead, 9190, with 7:14 left in the fourth. Morris’ 18-foot jumper put the Clippers ahead 94-92 with just under five minutes to play, but Los Angeles committed turnovers on four of its next five possessions and Philadelphia scored seven straight to go up 99-94.
Korkmaz’s three-point play made it 104-98 with 47.7 seconds left, but Reggie Jackson’s corner 3 with 20.5 seconds left made it 104-103.
Danny Green hit a pair of free throws and Morris missed a tying 3-point attempt with 5.8 seconds
left.
Philadelphia raced out to a 20-3 lead and leveraged that into a 5947 halftime advantage. Embiid had 15 points and nine rebounds at the break. Simmons put his defensive skills on display in the first half, making a long dash to block Patterson’s 3-point attempt with 4:53 left in the second quarter.
George got hot in the third, scoring 15 points to help the Clippers pull within 81-77 to start the fourth. Los Angeles hit six 3-pointers in the period.
TIP-INS
CLIPPERS » Coach Tyronn Lue said Leonard is progressing but the club is being cautious . ... Los Angeles fell to 17-11 on the road . ... LA beat the 76ers 122-112 at home on March 27 . ... Leonard is 15-1 against the 76ers in the regular season. 76ERS » Dwight Howard (left knee soreness), Tobias Harris (right knee soreness) and Seth Curry (left hip flexor tightness) didn’t play . ... Philly improved to 22-5 at home . ... Coach Doc Rivers
went 356-208 in the previous seven seasons as Clippers coach. ... Rivers said there isn’t a timetable for George Hill’s return, but the coach is optimistic it could be sometime next week. Hill, acquired at the trade deadline, has been out since Jan. 24 with a thumb injury . ... Embiid has 12 games with 30 or more points and 10 or more rebounds.
UP NEXT
76ERS » Host Golden Monday night.
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